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We now know the 15 vehicles chosen as finalists in five different categories by the good folks behind the 2021 World Car Awards.
Ahead of the grand finale, which takes place on April 20, the World Car Awards organization announced this week the three finalists for each of the five categories of the 2021 edition. The five categories are World Car of the Year, World Urban Car, World Luxury Car, World Performance Car and World Car Design of the Year.
A panel of 93 international automotive journalists selected the finalists making this cut se via a secret ballot based on their evaluation of each eligible vehicle in the course of their work. The results were tabulated by KPMG.
2021 World Car of the Year
The three nominees for the 2021 World Car of the Year are the Honda-e, Toyota Yaris and Volkswagen ID.4. This trio beat out the Audi A3, BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe and 4 Series, Kia K5 and Sorento, Mazda MX-30 and Mercedes-Benz GLA on their way to this finalists’ list.
2021 World Urban Car of the Year
Nominated in this category are the Honda-e, Honda Jazz and Toyota Yaris. All three vehicles are of Japanese origin, and they get bragging rights this year over the Korean Hyundai Grand i10 and Hyundai i20 models.
2021 World Luxury Car of the Year
In the World Luxury Car category, the top three places were taken by the Land Rover Defender, Mercedes-Benz S-Class and Polestar 2. The trio beat out competitors such as the Aston Martin DBX, the BMW X6 and the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
2021 World Performance Car of the Year
The next category is the World Performance Car and here it was the Audi RS Q8, Porsche 911 Turbo and Toyota GR Yaris that came out on top. The three finalists were favoured over the BMW M2 CS and the BMW X5 M and X6 M.
2021 World Car Design of the Year
Finally, for the Design of the Year, all of the aforementioned vehicles competed for favour, but the three finalists left standing are the Honda-e, Land Rover Defender and Mazda MX30. A panel of seven highly respected industry-wide design experts from around the world were invited to review each candidate and make a short list of recommendations for the final jury vote.
Next year, the World Car Awards will expand once more, with the addition of a World Electric Vehicle of the Year award. This new title is intended to recognize, support and celebrate the global transition to electric vehicles that is now well underway, and the efforts of manufacturers around the world to develop these more environmentally friendly vehicles.