The finalists for the 2016 World Car of the Year award have been announced ahead of the official ceremony at the New York Auto Show on March 24. Split into five categories, honors are also bestowed on the best luxury car, best performance car, and the greenest car of the year alongside a special award for design as judged by a global panel of 73 motoring journalists.
BMW has three nominations across three different categories in the 2016 World Car Of The Year. The new BMW 7 Series was nominated in the Luxury Car of the Year category and the 330e in the Green Car of the Year. The BMW X1 is a finalist in the World Car of the Year category where it will battle with the Jaguar XE, Land Rover Discovery Sport, Audi A4, BMW X1, Hyundai Tucson, Mercedes-Benz GLC, Toyota Prius, Skoda Superb and two Mazdas — the CX-3 and MX-5.
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Jaguar Land Rover has a strong showing this year, with six different nominations across all the different categories. The next closes is the VW group with five nominations. Mazda has the most nominations of any single brand with four.
In the overall car of the year category, the nominees are: Audi A4 Sedan/Avant, BMW X1, Hyundai Tucson, Jaguar XE, Land Rover Discovery Sport, Mazda CX-3, Mazda MX-5, Mercedes-Benz GLC, Skoda Superb and Toyota Prius.
Luxury Car of the Year:
Audi Q7
BMW 7 Series
Jaguar XF
Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe
Volvo XC90
Performance Car of the Year:
Audi R8 Coupe
Chevrolet Camaro
Honda Civic Type R
Mercedes-AMG C 63 Coupe
Range Rover Sport SVR
Green Car of the Year:
Chevrolet Volt
Toyota Prius (Hybrid)
Toyota Mirai (Hydrogen Fuel Cell)
Volkswagen Passat GTE
BMW 330e Plug-in-hybrid
Best Design of the Year:
Mazda CX-3
Mazda MX-5
Jaguar XE
Land Rover Discovery Sport
Cadillac CT6
