The three finalists in each of the five categories of the 2016 World Car Awards (WCA) have been announced by WCA chairman Peter Lyon. The contenders for the prestigious overall World Car of the Year title are the Audi A4, Mazda MX-5 and the Mercedes-Benz GLC, the former of which was recently launched in South Africa (a road test is scheduled for the May issue of CAR).
The top contenders for the 2016 World Car of the Year, World Luxury Car, World Performance Car and World Green Car were selected by a jury of 73 international motoring journalists, including former CAR deputy editor Mike Fourie, who is one of two South African representatives on the panel.
2016 marks the third consecutive year that the World Car Awards is the number one automotive awards program in the world in terms of media reach. The overall winners of the 2016 World Car Awards will be announced in New York on March 24.
The international accounting firm KPMG tabulated the jurors’ ballots, then announced the finalists today.
The 2016 World Car of the Year will be selected from the following three finalists listed in alphabetical order.
Audi A4 Sedan / Audi A4 Avant
Mazda MX-5
Mercedes-Benz GLC
The 2016 World Luxury Car will be chosen from one of these three finalists:
Audi Q7
BMW 7 Series
Volvo XC90
The 2016 World Performance Car will be chosen from one of these three finalists:
Audi R8 Coupé
Honda Civic Type R
Mercedes-AMG C 63 Coupé
The 2016 World Green Car will be chosen from one of these three finalists:
Chevrolet Volt
Toyota Prius (Hybrid)
Toyota Mirai (Hydrogen Fuel Cell)
Meanwhile, a design panel comprising six respected world design experts produced a short-list of recommendations for the jurors in the World Car Design of the Year category. The three finalists are: Mazda CX-3, Mazda MX-5 and the Jaguar XE.
CARmag.co.za will report on the winners of the 2016 World Car Awards once they’ve been announced at the New York Show.
