2016 World Car Of The Year Nominees Announced

Last year, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class won the coveted 2015 World Car of the Year award whereas its luxury and performance siblings, the S-Class Coupe and Mercedes-AMG GT, took home the World Luxury Car of the Year and World Performance Car of the Year awards respectively.

Now, the nominees for the 2016 World Car of the Year award has been announced, including the contenders for the more specific categories – Performance, Luxury, Green, and Design.

Winners in the 2015 categories saw the BMW i8 coming up tops in the World Green Car of the Year, while the Citroen C4 Cactus won World Design Car of the Year.

To qualify for this year’s awards, as in previous years, models must be new and officially available to purchase on at least two continents between 1 January 2015 and 31 May 2016.

A panel of judges are responsible for the initial list of nominees which were recently announced, ahead of an announcement of the top-three finalists during the Geneva motor show in March 2016. The winner will be revealed shortly after during the New York Auto Show.

The full list of contenders for the 2016 World Car of the Year along with the accompanying specific categories are as follows:

2016 World Car of the Year nominees:

• Audi A4
• BMW X1
• Cadillac CT6
• Chevrolet Malibu
• Ford Edge
• Honda HR-V (also nominated in the inaugural Asean Car of the Year awards)
• Hyundai Creta
• Hyundai Tucson
• Jaguar XE
• Kia Optima
• Land Rover Discovery Sport
• Mazda CX-3
• Mazda MX-5
• Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class
• Nissan Maxima
• Opel Astra
• Skoda Superb
• SsangYong Tivoli
• Subaru Levorg
• Subaru Outback
• Toyota Prius
• Volkswagen Touran

2016 World Performance Car of the Year nominees:

• Audi R8 Coupe
• Audi RS 3 Sportback
• BMW X5 M and X6 M
• Cadillac ATS-V
• Cadillac CTS-V
• Chevrolet Camaro
• Honda Civic Type R
• Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR
• Mercedes-AMG C 63 Coupe

2016 World Luxury Car of the Year nominees:

• Audi Q7
• Bentley Mulsanne Speed
• BMW 7 Series
• Infiniti Q30
• Jaguar XF
• Lexus RX
• Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class Coupe
• Volvo XC90

2016 World Green Car of the Year nominees:

• BMW 330e
• Chevrolet Volt
• Mercedes-Benz C 350e
• Nissan Murano Hybrid
• Nissan X-Trail Hybrid
• Toyota Mirai
• Toyota Prius
• Volkswagen Passat GTE

2016 World Design Car of the Year nominees:

• Audi Q7
• Audi R8 Coupe
• BMW 2 Series Convertible
• BMW 7 Series
• Hyundai Creta
• Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe