The 'Road to the World Car Award' for 2015, which began in Paris in October with the announcement of a preliminary list of candidates (see below), passed through Los Angeles this week.
Over a four-day period, 20 international World Car award jurors took the opportunity to test-drive 12 American and Korean contenders for the award that are not readily available in their home countries. The World Car jury panel is comprised of 74 distinguished automotive journalists from 22 countries on six continents.
The Road to the World Car for 2015 will end on Thursday, April 2, 2015 at the New York International Auto Show, when the winner of the overall World Car Award is revealed, along with winners in four other categories – World Luxury Car of the Year, World Performance Car of the Year, World Car Design and World Green Car.
In 2013, the World Car Awards and the New York Auto Show announced an alliance that will keep the prestigious awards program in New York City through 2018. The agreement marks the formalizing of a nine-year relationship between World Car and the New York Auto Show that has seen the awards program grow to become the premier automotive award in the world in terms of global media reach.
Based on a preliminary round of voting, a short list of ten candidates for the overall award will be selected and announced in February.
The penultimate stop on the Road to the World Car will be at the Geneva Motor Show on Tuesday, March 3, 2015 when the top three finalists in all award categories will be announced.
Beyond just evaluating and selecting the world Car Award winners, the WCA jurors form a global community of experts who also serve as a resource for the industry with a focus on excellence and innovation on a global scale.
The WCA and global research partner, Prime Research, co-present a Global Trends Report annually at the New York International Auto Show. each spring.
Other WCA partners include Bridgestone and Autoneum, along with the New York International Auto Show.
2015 WORLD CAR OF THE YEAR
Preliminary List of Candidates
BMW 2 Series Active Tourer
Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban
Chrysler 200
Chrysler 300
Citroën C4 Cactus
Dodge Charger
Fiat 500X
Ford Mustang
Hyundai Genesis
Hyundai Sonata
Hyundai i20
Jeep Renegade
Kia Sorento
Mazda2
Mercedes-Benz C-Class
MINI 5 door / MINI 4 door Hard Top
Nissan Qashqai
Nissan NP300
Opel Corsa
Renault Twingo
Subaru WRX / WRX STI
Toyota Camry
Toyota Highlander / Kluger
Volkswagen Passat