World Car of the Year finalists announced
Wednesday, 9 February 2022
The ten finalists in the World car of the Year (WCOTY) awards have been revealed, along with the five finalists in each of the individual categories.
A jury of 102 international motoring journalists from 33 countries selected the finalists by secret ballot, and the eventual winner will be revealed on the 13th of April at the 2022 New York International Auto Show. Then ten finalists are:
Of the ten finalists, four are currently on sale in New Zealand (Formentor, Civic, Ioniq 5 and Tucson), while the Lexus NX and Kia EV6 are due to go on sale here within the next few months. The Audi Q4 e-tron is expected before the end of the year and the Toyota GR86 is definitely coming, but no local launch timing has been confirmed yet.
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We aren’t sure about the BRZ, as Subaru New Zealand only brought in 12 of the original model anyway, while the Mustang Mach-E and Genesis G70 will be some way off, if they ever go on sale here at all.
A new addition to overall award, there are five additional categories, including the new World Electric Vehicle of the Year award. The five finalists in the new EV category are the Audi e-tron GT, the BMW iX, the Ford Mustang Mach-E, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the Mercedes-Benz EQS.
Other category finalists are for World Urban Car (Dacia Sandero, Opel Mokka, Renault Kiger, Toyota Yaris Cross and Volkswagen Taigun), World Luxury Car (Audi Q5 Sportback, BMW iX, Genesis GV70, Mercedes-Benz EQS and Volvo C40 Recharge) and World Performance Car (Audi e-tron GT, BMW M3/M4, Porsche 911 GT3, Toyota GR86/Subaru BRZ and Volkswagen Golf GTI/R)
All cars competing in the five categories are also eligible for the 2022 World Car Design of the Year award. A design panel consisting of six highly respected design experts were asked to first review each candidate, and then establish a short-list of recommendations for the jurors’ final vote.
The panel is made up of a number of designers who have worked across the car industry, including Gernot Bracht (Renault, Opel), Ian Callum (Ford, TWR, Jaguar), Patrick le Quément (Renault), Tom Matano (Mazda), Victor Nacif (Nissan) and Shiro Nakamura (Nissan).
The five finalists chosen by the design panel for the jurors’ final vote are the Audi e-tron GT, the Ford Mustang Mach-E, the Hyundai Ioniq 5, the Kia EV6 and the Mercedes-Benz EQS.
The winners will be announced on Wednesday, April 13, 2022 live at the New York International Auto Show, with this year marking the 17th year of the World Car Awards partnership with the show.
“We are proud to be part of the most important automotive awards program on the planet,” said New York Auto Show president, Mark Scheinberg.
“We are looking forward to coming back this spring and announcing the winners live at the Auto Show in April. While the last two years have been challenging for everyone, car buyers are ready to come out and experience all the amazing new vehicles and technologies the industry has to offer. Congratulations and best of luck to all the finalists.”