The International of the Year 2022 is the best newcomer to commercial vehicles. Who did it become?
At the moment we are still waiting for the results 'Car of the Year'. It will traditionally be unveiled during the Geneva Salon period. We have good news for those who can't wait for a Car of the Year trophy. Because the International Van of the Year 2022 has been announced!
International Van of the Year 2022
And the winner is – a lot of drum trowel – the Renault Kangoo! The official title is the “International Van of the Year 2022”, or the IVOTY 2022. A jury of no fewer than 24 commercial vehicle journalists put their heads together to find out who would be this year's winner. Ultimately, the choice fell on the brand new Renault Kangoo and the Mercedes-Benz Citan.
The cars scored highly in the areas of efficiency, sustainability, safety and environmental friendliness. It is not clear how this was assessed. However, the Citan and Kangoo are largely identical to each other, just like the later introduced Nissan Townstar.
Secretly a Renault
Renault finely points out that the Mercedes-Benz Citan uses a Renault platform with Renault technology. That is correct, because all three commercial vehicles are on Renault's CMF-C platform. The engines (1.3 petrol and 1.5 diesel) are both also from Renault, as well as the technology of the electric commercial vehicle (Kangoo E-Tech, e-Citan) that will appear in 2022.
Not the first time for Renault
It's not the first time for Renault that they win this prize. In 1998 (Renault Master), 2002 (Renault Trafic) and 2012 (Kangoo ZE), the French also won the title of Commercial Vehicle of the Year.
Mercedes also won the title three times: in 1995 (Sprinter), in 1996 (Vito ) and 2005 (again the Vito). Even without the prestigious awards, the Kangoo is a certainty for Renault. Since its introduction in 1997, 4,700,000 have been sold.