The tests by the 27 jurors took place at the Zwartkops Raceway and surrounding areas.

During the evaluation days, different tests were conducted to review aspects such as the vehicles' design and engineering, technology, powertrain, practicality, safety, ride and handling, value for money and overall excellence and ingenuity. Value for money, an important criterion, will be further scrutinised in a follow-up study conducted by Lightstone Automotive.

“The test days are always the most exciting part of the COTY competition," said Mabuyane Mabuza, Chairperson of the 2023 COTY Committee. "It is a time when the top journalists in the country come together to review the different cars and share their expert opinions about all the competitors to find the category and overall competition winners.”

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Following the test days, the individual juror scores are tallied and combined to form the raw scoring, after which the automated scoring process starts, which includes Lightstone Automotive's involvement. The company is COTY's automotive intelligence partner supplying data, such as average monthly sales volumes per product and market segment and specification-adjusted competitor pricing, to complete the scoring process. Finally, the results are formally audited.

“Our jury worked tirelessly to find the winners of this year's competition,” Mabuyane concluded. "The test days allowed the jurors to immerse themselves in everything the finalists had to offer, contributing to the tough decision of who will be crowned the COTY 2023 winner. This year's COTY winners will be announced on the 1st of June."