The Toyota Prius Prime was declared the 2017 World Green Car at a press conference hosted by the New York International Auto Show, Bridgestone Corporation, and Autoneum.
This is the second consecutive World Green Car win for Toyota Motor Corporation. The Toyota Mirai won last year’s World Green Car title.
Jack Hollis, Group VP and General Manager of Toyota division commented, “It is a great honor to have both the Prius Prime and C‐HR nominated for World Car of the Year awards. For global automakers like Toyota, consideration for this award is a testament to our focus on developing products that both stir the emotions and meet the mobility needs of our customers in all corners of the world.”
Toyota Motor Corporation is no stranger to the World Car Awards program – now in its 13th year. The Toyota Prius previously earned “Top Three in the World” status in 2010 for both the World Green Car and the overall World Car of the Year categories. The Toyota GT86 was a “Top Three in the World” finalist for 2013 World Car of the Year; the Toyota iQ in 2009 for the same category and the Toyota Harrier Hybrid for 2006 World Green Car.
The Toyota Prius Prime was chosen from an initial entry list of 12 new vehicles from all over the world, then a short list of three finalists as announced in Geneva: the Chevrolet Bolt EV, the Tesla Model X and the Toyota Prius Prime.
To be eligible for the 2017 World Green Car award, a vehicle had to be all‐new, or substantially revised, in production and introduced for sale or lease to the public in quantities of at least 10 in at least one major market during the period beginning January 1, 2016 and ending May 31, 2017. Tailpipe emissions, fuel consumption, and use of a major advanced power plant technology (beyond engine componentry), aimed specifically at increasing the vehicle’s environmental responsibility, were all taken into consideration.
Vehicles in all award categories are selected and voted on by an international jury panel comprised of 75 top‐level automotive journalists from 23 countries around the world. Each juror was appointed by the World Car Steering Committee on the basis of his or her expertise, experience, credibility, and influence. Each juror typically drives and evaluates new vehicles on a regular basis as part of their professional work. Through their respective outlets they collectively reach an audience of many millions world‐wide. The international accounting firm KPMG tabulates the jurors’ ballots.
Previous World Green Car winners were: Toyota Mirai (2016), BMWi8 (2015) and the BMW i3 (2014), then the Tesla Model S (2013), the Mercedes‐Benz S 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY (2012), the Chevrolet Volt (2011), the Volkswagen BlueMotion (2010), the Honda FCX Clarity (2009), the BMW 118d with Efficient Dynamics (2008), the Mercedes‐Benz E320 Bluetec (2007) and the Honda Civic Hybrid (2006).
The Road to World Car began in Paris on September 29, was followed by test‐drives in Los Angeles in November, continued in Geneva with the Top Three in the World announcement, and finally ended today with the declaration of the winners in six categories at the New York International Auto Show.
2017 marks the 11th anniversary of the partnership between World Car and the New York show, and the fourth consecutive year that the World Car Awards have retained their ranking as the number one automotive awards program in the world in terms of media reach.
