The 10 finalists for the 2018 World Car of the Year award have been announced. From Audi e-tron to Hyundai Nexo, the finalists include manufacturers from Germany, Sweden, Italy, Japan, Korea, UK and the U.S.
The Road to World Car is an annual journey in partnership with the New York International Show. The journey follows more than 80 of our international journalists as they test-drive, and vote on, the 2019 eligible vehicles. The official launch took place in Paris on September 19th.
The World Car Finals countdown will continue on Tuesday, March 5th during a stop at the Geneva Motor Show where the Top Three In The World finalists will be announced along with the 2019 World Car Person of the Year.
The Road to World Car journey will end when the winners are officially declared in all six categories at an awards ceremony that officially opens the New York show on April 17, 2019.
The 2019 World Car of the Year winner will be selected from the following 10 finalists that were chosen from an initial list of 40 contenders. The Top Ten World Car of the Year finalists are, in alphabetic order:
Audi e-tron
BMW 3 Series
Ford Focus
Genesis G70
Hyundai Nexo
Jaguar I-Pace
Mercedes-Benz A-Class
Suzuki Jimny
Volvo S60/V60
Volvo XC40
There are five finalists in the 2019 World Green Car category. They are:
Audi e-tron
Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid
Hyundai Nexo
Jaguar I-Pace
Kia Niro EV
The 2019 World Urban Car will be chosen from one of these top five finalists:
Audi A1
Hyundai AH2 / Santro
Kia Soul
SEAT Arona
Suzuki Jimny
The 2019 World Luxury Car top five finalists are as follows:
Audi A7
Audi Q8
BMW 8 Series
Mercedes-Benz CLS
Volkswagen Touareg
The 2019 World Performance Car top five finalists are:
Aston Martin Vantage
BMW M2 Competition
Hyundai Veloster N
McLaren 720S
Mercedes-Benz AMG 4-door Coupe
Again this year, the cars eligible for the 2019 World Car Design of the Year award could be any of the contenders competing in the six award categories.
A design panel consisting of seven highly respected world design experts was asked to first review each candidate, and then establish a short-list of recommendations for the jurors. The design experts are in alpha order: Anne Asensio (France – Vice-President, Design – Dassault Systemes), Gernot Bracht (Germany – Pforzheim Design School), Patrick le Quément (France – Designer and President of the Strategy Committee – The Sustainable Design School), Sam Livingstone (U.K. – Car Design Research and Royal College of Art), Tom Matano (USA – School of Industrial Design at Academy of Art University in San Francisco), Gordon Murray (U.K. – Gordon Murray Design) and Shiro Nakamura (Japan – CEO, Shiro Nakamura Design Associates Inc.).
The five finalists chosen by the design panel for the jurors’ final vote are:
Citroen C5 Aircross
Jaguar E Pace
Jaguar I PACE
Suzuki Jimny
Volvo XC40
