Chinese cars are selling ever more actively in Europe, but this time they did not reach the final of the continent's main automotive award. The shortlist for European Car of the Year 2027 (COTY) turned out to be fully battery-electric, and among the contenders there was not a single model from China, reports Carscoops. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

The title of best car in Europe will be contested by the new-generation BMW iX3 Neue Klasse, Cupra Raval, Hyundai Ioniq 3, Kia EV2, Renault Twingo, Volkswagen ID Polo and Volvo EX60. All seven models are electric vehicles. For the first time in the award's history, no car with an internal combustion engine made the final.

The finalists were selected from 38 contenders, and the jury included 65 automotive journalists from 25 countries. Among those who did not advance were the Renault Clio, Mercedes GLC, Polestar 5, Honda Prelude, Toyota RAV4 and Skoda Epiq.

At the preliminary stage, the list included eight models from China: the BYD Dolphin G, Denza Z9GT, Leapmotor B05 and B03X, as well as the IM5, MG4 Urban and MGS6 from the SAIC group. But none of them reached the final seven.

And this comes against the backdrop of Chinese cars occupying roughly every tenth place among new car sales in Europe. It turns out that Chinese brands are building a relationship with buyers, but not so much with the COTY jury this time.

True, the final was not entirely without a Chinese trace. Among the contenders is the Volvo EX60, and the Swedish brand belongs to China's Geely. The electric crossover itself is produced in the Swedish town of Torslanda.

In November, the finalists will face tests at the Balocco proving ground of Stellantis near Milan. The winner will be announced on January 8 at the Brussels Motor Show.

The European Car of the Year award has existed since 1964. Its first winner was the Rover 2000. Among electric vehicles, the Nissan Leaf won in 2011 and the Jaguar I-Pace in 2019. In the previous cycle, the jury chose the Mercedes CLA.

Earlier, Kursiv Auto reported that electric vehicles took nine places in China's top-10 sales.