The shortlist for the European Car of the Year award for 2025 has been revealed, dominated by small electric cars.

Whittled down from an original line-up of 42 models, the seven contenders include the Alfa Romeo Junior, Citroën C3, Cupra Terramar, Dacia Duster, Hyundai Inster, Kia EV3 and Renault 5 / Alpine A290.

The judging panel – made up of 60 jurors from 23 European countries – will now carry out further testing ahead of the final vote. The winner will be announced at the Brussels Motor Show on 10 January.

For the final choice, each jury can distribute 25 points, offering a maximum of 10 points to a car, and are required to vote at least five vehicles of the seven finalists with a winning model.

Last year’s continental crown went to the Renault Scenic, which won the final vote over six other contenders: the BMW 5 Series, BYD Seal, Kia EV9, Peugeot 3008, Toyota C-HR and Volvo EX30.

The Renault scored 329 points, beating the BMW’s 308 points, followed by the Peugeot 3008 with 197 points. Fourth place went to the Kia EV9 (190 points), fifth to the Volvo EX30 (168 points), sixth to the BYD Seal (131 points) and seventh to the Toyota C-HR with 127 points.