The list of finalists that are eligible for the 2015 World Car of the Year award has just been released. The cars in contention are, 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 Hard Top
Nissan Qashqai
Volkswagen Passat
The winner of the 2015 competition will be announced at the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS) on 2 April. Apart from the overall winner several category winners will be announced as well, including World Luxury Car, World Performance Car, World Green Car and World Car Design of the Year.
A jury of seventy-five distinguished international automotive journalists, among them CAR deputy editor Mike Fourie, selected the following finalists in the World Car of the Year, World Luxury Car and World Performance Car categories.
The 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 World Performance Car top ten finalists are:
Audi S1
Audi S3
Audi TT/TTS
Bentley Continental GT Speed
BMWM4 Coupe/M3 Sedan
Corvette Z06
Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat
Jaguar F-TYPE R Coupe
Lexus RC-F
Mercedes-Benz AMG GT
The World Green Car category is judged by five experts in “green” technology who created a short-list of finalists for review by the 75 jurors. The finalists for 2015 are:
BMW i8
Hyundai x35/Tucson Fuel Cell
Kia Soul EV
Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine
Volkswagen Golf GTE
The World Car Design is handled in a similar fashion with a design panel consisting of five highly respected world design experts was asked to first review each candidate, and then establish a short-list of recommendations:
BMW 2 Series Active Tourer
Citroën C4 Cactus
Mercedes C-Class
Porsche Macan
Volvo XC90