Citan and Kangoo win International Van of the Year

TWENTY-FOUR judges from the commercial, industrial, and transport vehicle sector have voted the Mercedes-Benz Citan and Renault Kangoo as joint winners of the 2022 International Van of the Year (IVOTY) title. 

The duo topped 14 light commercial vehicles from 11 brands to win the coveted award; the models performed strongly in various facets, including efficiency, safety, and sustainability.

The win marked Renault’s fourth IVOTY title in 23 years – the brand previously took the top spot with its Master (1998), Trafic (2002) and Kangoo Z.E. (2012). Mercedes-Benz, which won IVOTY trophies for its Sprinter (1995) and Vito (1997 and 2005), equalled Renault’s tally, 

The fifth-generation Volkswagen Caddy finished runner-up, while Stellantis’s small electric vans and the Toyota ProAce Electric were tied for third place.

“As the award program enters its fourth decade, the philosophy and objectives remain unchanged, despite the high level of technology and innovation being achieved by manufacturers and also in meeting market trends,” IVOTY chairperson Jarlath Sweeney explained.

“The main criteria for the International Van of the Year Award is the vehicles’ contribution to the efficiency, safety, sustainability, and environmental standards of the light commercial vehicle sector.

“For the IVOTY 2022 award, the candidates included traditional diesel-powered vans and a selection of electric variants. Initially, there were fourteen new cans that were recently launched by eleven light commercial manufacturers for the pan-European IVOTY jury to elect one overall winner,” he said.

The jointly developed Mercedes-Benz and Renault light commercial duo were praised by IVOTY judges for their standout features – including the state-of-the-art MBUX infotainment system in the Citan and unique Open Sesame door system of the Kangoo. 

Safety and driver assistance technologies across the pair were also highly commended.

“We are delighted that our new Mercedes-Benz Citan has been awarded the International Van of the Year Award 2022,” Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans Marcus Breitschwerdt said.

“The Citan was entirely redeveloped by professionals for professionals and perfectly complements our existing Mercedes-Benz Vans portfolio. Both the panel van and the Tourer offer our customers a wide range of possible uses and a high degree of functionality – with extremely high driving comfort and the proven Mercedes-Benz safety standards. 

“As a true Mercedes-Benz, it completes our vans family. A big thank you for this great award to the International Van of the Year jury,” he added.

Renault Group senior vice president of LCV business unit Mark Sutcliffe also thanked the IVOTY jury. He said the award was a source of great pride for the manufacturers’ teams.

“I would like to thank the entire IVOTY jury for having elected the new Renault Kangoo Van International Van of the Year for 2022,” he said.

“This award is a source of great pride for our teams. It rewards their effort in designing and manufacturing a van to the highest quality standards and whose innovations, unique on the market, have been designed to enhance the daily life of our professional customers.

“This prestigious award is the latest recognition of Renault’s innovation and leadership in the Light Commercial Vehicle segment dating back more than 120 years,” Mr Sutcliffe concluded.