The Mercedes-Benz C-Class has been named the 2015 World Car of the Year at the New York Auto Show. The Stuttgart-based manufacturer scored a World Car Awards hat trick by winning the World Luxury Car and World Performance Car awards as well.
The international WCA jury is made up of 75 renowned automotive journalists from 22 countries, of which CAR deputy editor Mike Fourie is South Africa’s sole representative.
The C-Class was chosen from an initial entry list of 24 vehicles, then a shortlist of twelve, then three finalists (including the Ford Mustang and VW Passat). What’s more, the S-Class Coupé was voted “World Luxury Car 2015”, while the Mercedes-AMG GT claimed the award for “World Performance Car 2015”.
Mercedes-Benz was the only manufacturer to make it into the final round of the awards with five vehicles – an unprecedented feat in the 11-year history of the “World Car of the Year” awards.
The World Car Awards jurors observed that, “taking its design and technological cues from the S-Class grand saloon, the C-Class employs an all-new aluminium/steel hybrid platform and updated rear-drive powertrains that delivers levels of refinement, luxury, safety, ride and handling that challenge best-in-class.”
Meanwhile, the BMW i8 was named the 2015 World Green Car (the second consecutive year the Munich-based brand has won the World Green Car title and the third time since 2010) and the Citroën C4 Cactus was declared the 2015 World Car Design of the Year.
