The World Car of the Year jury has revealed its finalists for the coveted award in all five award categories. The finalistsare chosen from a global pool of models so many of the cars that make the list are not sold in SA. In 2014 the overall award win went the the Audi A3.

The countdown is now on for the 2015 World Car Awards prize-giving ceremony to be hosted by the New York International Auto Show on Thursday, 2 April 2015.

A jury of 75 international motoring journalists selected the following finalists in the World Car of the Year, World Luxury Car and World Performance Car categories by secret ballot, based on their experience with each candidate as part of their professional work.

The 2015World Car of the Year finalists:

BMW 2 Series Active Tourer

Citroën C4 Cactus

Ford Mustang

Hyundai Genesis

Jeep Renegade

Mazda2

Mercedes-Benz C-Class

MINI 5 door / MINI 4 door

Nissan Qashqai

Volkswagen Passat

The 2015World Luxury Car finalists:

BMW i8

BMW X6

Cadillac ATS Coupe

Cadillac Escalade / ESV

Kia K900

Lexus NX

Lexus RC

Lincoln MKC

Mercedes-Benz S Coupe

Range Rover Autobiography Black LWB

The 2015World Performance Carfinalists:

Audi S1

Audi S3

Audi TT / TTS

Bentley Continental GT Speed

BMW M4 Coupe / M3 Sedan

Corvette Z06

Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat

Jaguar F-TYPE R Coupe

Lexus RC-F

Mercedes-Benz AMG GT

The 2015World Green Carcategory is handled differently. Five experts in “green” technology were appointed 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 75 jurors in their second round of voting this month. The finalists for 2015 are:

BMW i8

Hyundai x35 / Tucson Fuel Cell

Kia Soul EV

Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine

Volkswagen Golf GTE