Hyundai Motor Co. introduced on Jan. 15 that its Palisade SUV has been named North American Utility Car of the Yr on the 2026 North American Automotive of the Yr awards ceremony held at Huntington Place in Detroit, Michigan. The newest accolade marks the ninth time Hyundai Motor Group has secured a win on the North American Automotive, Truck and Utility Car of the Yr (NACTOY) awards, and the primary time a Hyundai-branded automobile has gained because the Avante (Elantra) took the highest automobile honors in 2021.
The Palisade emerged as the ultimate winner after a intently contested spherical towards fellow finalists the Lucid Gravity and the Nissan Leaf. Judges gave significantly excessive marks to the Palisade’s next-generation hybrid system. This new powertrain integrates a newly developed transmission that includes two built-in motors throughout a various engine lineup, optimizing each efficiency and gasoline effectivity. Hyundai emphasised that the Palisade’s success underscores its inside combustion and hybrid technological prowess at a time when the North American hybrid market continues to increase quickly.
“The Palisade is a mannequin that units the requirements for a Twenty first-century household automobile,” stated Jeff Gilbert, president of the NACTOY jury. “Its mixture of a spacious inside, partaking driving dynamics, and a variety of applied sciences is really spectacular.” Since its founding in 1994, the NACTOY group has chosen the highest autos of the 12 months, incomes a popularity because the “Oscars of the Automotive Business.”
The Palisade’s essential acclaim is mirrored by its business success, with cumulative world gross sales reaching 1,100,351 items. The USA has been a main driver of this quantity, accounting for 604,117 items bought. “The Palisade embodies all the things Hyundai strives to supply our clients: lovely design, cutting-edge know-how, superior security, and immense worth for households,” stated José Muñoz, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor Co. “It’s a profound honor to have the Palisade acknowledged because the premier SUV by the North American Automotive of the Yr jury.”
