At a press conference hosted at the Geneva International Motor Show, the top three finalists for the World Car of the Year, World Luxury Car, World Performance Car, World Green Car and World Car Design of the Year awards were announced.
The overall winners in all categories will be declared at the New York International Auto Show on Thursday, April 17, 2014.
To be eligible for the overall World Car award, the candidates must become available for sale on at least two continents during the period beginning January 1, 2013 and ending May 31, 2014.
Vehicles are selected and voted on by an international jury panel comprised of sixty-nine top-level automotive journalists from twenty-two countries around the world. Each juror was appointed by the World Car Awards’ 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. All hold significant stature within their own regions and countries.
From an initial entry list of twenty-four new vehicles from all over the world, then a short list of finalists, the top three contenders for the overall 2014 World Car of the Year title have been revealed: Audi A3, BMW 4 Series, Mazda3.
This is the first year for the World Luxury Car award. This new category is created to acknowledge higher-priced premium models selling in more limited numbers worldwide. The top three finalists are: Bentley Flying Spur, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Range Rover Sport.
This year, World Performance Car was faced with a vast array of legitimate performers from every price bracket imaginable. The top three finalists are: Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, Ferrari 458 Speciale, Porsche 911 GT3.
The World Green Car award is presented by Bridgestone Corporation for the past seven years. Five experts in “green” technology are appointed annually by the World Car Awards Steering Committee to extensively review all documentation and specs associated with each candidate on the list of nominees. The experts then create a short-list of finalists for review by the sixty-nine jurors in their second round of voting. The jurors chose these top three finalists for 2014: Audi A3 Sportback g-tron, BMW i3, Volkswagen XL1.
World Car Design of the Year was judged by a design panel consisting of five highly respected world design experts was asked to first review each candidate, and then establish a short-list of recommendations for the jurors. The jurors chose the following top three finalists: BMW i3, Mazda3, Mercedes-Benz C-Class.
