It’s probably one of the most prestigious achievements for any car manufacturer when they receive news that their car has bested other cars, not just in terms of market popularity, but from an assessment by multiple jurors from around the world. This ties in nicely with how car companies have started to make ‘global’ cars, or cars that are sold in nearly every market around the world. These are cars that are designed and engineered to suit the needs of multiple markets- and they should by right be strong contenders to World Car of the Year.
The journey on The Road to the World Car continues with today’s announcement of the finalists in all five award categories. This release kicks off the countdown for the 2015 World Car Awards (the WCAs) prize-giving ceremony to be hosted by the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS), Bridgestone Corporation and Autoneum on Thursday, April 2, 2015. Winners of the 2015 World Car of the Year, World Luxury Car, World Performance Car, World Green Car and World Car Design of the Year will all be declared at this time.
A jury of 75 distinguished international automotive journalists selected the following finalists in the World Car of the Year, World Luxury Car and World Performance Car categories by secret ballot, based on their experience with each candidate as part of their professional work.
The 2015 World Car of the Year (WCOTY) will be selected from the following ten finalists listed in alphabetical order:
BMW 2 Series Active Tourer
Citroën C4 Cactus
Ford Mustang
Hyundai Genesis
Jeep Renegade
Mazda2
Mercedes-Benz C-Class
MINI 5 door / MINI 4 door
Nissan Qashqai
Volkswagen Passat
The 2015 World Luxury Car will be chosen from one of these top ten finalists:
BMW i8
BMW X6
Cadillac ATS Coupe
Cadillac Escalade / ESV
Kia K900
Lexus NX
Lexus RC
Lincoln MKC
Mercedes-Benz S Coupe
Range Rover Autobiography Black LWB
The 2015 World Performance Car top ten finalists are:
Audi S1
Audi S3
Audi TT / TTS
Bentley Continental GT Speed
BMW M4 Coupe / M3 Sedan
Corvette Z06
Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat
Jaguar F-TYPE R Coupe
Lexus RC-F
Mercedes-Benz AMG GT
The 2015 World Green Car category is handled differently. Five experts in “green” technology were appointed by the World Car Awards Steering Committee to extensively review all documentation and specs associated with each candidate on the list of nominees. The experts then create a short-list of finalists for review by the 75 jurors in their second round of voting this month. The finalists for 2015 are:
BMW i8
Hyundai x35 / Tucson Fuel Cell
Kia Soul EV
Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine
Volkswagen Golf GTE
Cars eligible for the 2015 World Car Design of the Year award are taken from the list of World Car candidates or may be included as a stand-alone entry provided the vehicle is available in quantities of at least 10 in one major market during the period beginning January 1, 2014 and ending May 31, 2015. Candidates may be pre-production or all-new production.
The five finalists chosen by the jurors are:
BMW 2 Series Active Tourer
Citroën C4 Cactus
Mercedes-Benz C-Class
Porsche Macan
Volvo XC90
So there you have it- five top spots up for grabs, and many cars from which to choose. Even making it into this shortlist is no mean feat, so the cars that have been shortlisted are definitely among the best. The fact that you won’t see most of these cars here raises the question of whether WCOTY is actually a globally relevant assessment, but in due time as companies become more global, we will see more locally sold cars in these lists.
