The jurors of the 2021 North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year (NACTOY) Awards have decided this year’s three big winners, and the Blue Oval is happy to report it has earned not one, but two awards. The fully electric Mustang Mach-E triumphed in the Utility category, thus beating the other two finalists – Genesis GV80 luxury SUV and the Land Rover Defender off-roader.
Ford also took first place in the Truck of the Year segment, with the fourteenth-generation F-150 managing to score more votes from the jurors than the Jeep Gladiator in the Mojave trim and the Ram 1500 in the high-powered TRX version. As for the Car of the Year award, the revamped Hyundai Elantra outshined the Genesis G80 and Nissan Sentra.
Ford has barely started customer deliveries of the first-ever electric Mustang SUV, delivering a total of three vehicles until December 31, 2020, in North America, according to the company’s sales charts. Some versions will be available later this year, including the Mach-E GT scheduled to arrive towards the end of the summer as the fastest and most powerful variant of the high-riding ‘Stang.
For the time being, Ford is assembling more than 3,000 units per month and has also commenced shipping in some EV-loving European countries such as Norway. The zero-emissions SUV carrying the fabled pony car name is also heading to China where it will be sold exclusively with the GT model’s front fascia regardless of the trim level.
Ford has already hinted at an even faster version and has vowed to improve the Mustang Mach-E post-purchase by rolling out over-the-air updates, which will include the implementation of a handsfree semi-autonomous driving system. These gradual improvements will enable the first-ever Mustang SUV to remain fresh and competitive in its battle against the Tesla Model Y and the upcoming Volkswagen ID.4.
Source: North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year (NACTOY) Awards
