AJAC Hands Out 2025 Innovation Awards to Lucid, BMW, Mazda
Following the announcement of the 2025 Canadian Cars and Utility Vehicles of the Year in Toronto last month, the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) this week handed out its 2025 Innovation Awards during the opening ceremonies of Elevate a.k.a. the Vancouver Auto Show.
An expert voting panel of AJAC journalists assessed nominations and compiled a shortlist of finalists before the judges cast their votes. Innovations are evaluated according to their consumer benefit and appeal, originality, cost and likely impact on the market.
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Best Green Innovation of 2025
The Lucid Air Pure’s electric powertrainwon the award this year. The EV maker from California has developed its own powertrain technology to better integrate elements like the motor and battery while reducing weight. The result is exceptional efficiency (15.3 kWh/100 km) along with high-level performance.
In base Pure trim, the electric luxury sedan features a single motor and rear-wheel drive. Maximum range is officially rated at 676 km.
Best Safety Innovation of 2025
The award winner for 2025 is BMW’s Digital Key Plus, which uses ultra-wideband (UWB) technology as an innovative solution to combat car theft. The two-way communication between the vehicle and the virtual key in the owner’s phone prevents 'relay' attacks that have become commonplace, whereby a criminal capture signals from keys in a house and rebroadcasts them to steal the car.
Other companies offer similar digital keys, but the AJAC chose to reward BMW’s due to advanced functionality and security.
Best Technical Innovation of 2025
The third and final award this year went to Mazda’s Large Platform MHEV powertrains, which underpin the new CX-70 and CX-90 midsize crossovers. The combination of a turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine with a 48V mild hybrid system and newly designed eight-speed transmission boosts efficiency, improves acceleration off the line and sharpens driving dynamics, as the AJAC noted.
There are two variants. The standard one produces 280 horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque while achieving a combined 9.3 L/100 km according to Natural Resources Canada, while the high-output variant generates either 319 horsepower (regular gas) or 340 horsepower (premium gas), increases peak torque to 369 lb-ft and still averages 9.5 L/100 km.