Top Ten and Top Five Finalists Announced

The WORLD CAR FINALS countdown excitement begins today with the announcement of the Top Ten and Top Five finalists in five World Car Awards categories as tabulated by KPMG. 

A jury of 93 distinguished international automotive journalists selected the finalists by secret ballot based on their evaluation of each eligible vehicle as part of their professional work. South Africa is represented by Charleen Clarke, Lerato Matebese, Brenwin Naidu and Hannes Oosthuizen.

The 2021 World Car of the Year (WCOTY) winner will be selected from the following Top Ten finalists chosen from an initial list of 24 contenders:

• Audi A3
• BMW 2-Series Gran Coupe
• BMW 4-Series
• Honda-e
• Kia K5 / Optima
• Kia Sorento
• Mazda MX-30
• Mercedes-Benz GLA
• Toyota Yaris
• Volkswagen ID.4

The 2021 World Urban Car will be chosen from these top five finalists:

• Honda Jazz / Fit
• Honda-e
• Hyundai i10 / Grand i10
• Hyundai i20
• Toyota Yaris

The 2021 World Luxury Car top five finalists are:

• Aston Martin DBX
• BMW X6
• Land Rover Defender
• Mercedes-Benz S-Class
• Polestar 2

The 2021 World Performance Car top five finalists are:

• Audi RS Q8
• BMW M2 CS
• BMW X5 M / X6 M
• Porsche 911 Turbo
• Toyota GR Yaris

All cars competing in these four categories are eligible for the 2021 World Car Design of the Year award. 

A design panel consisting of seven highly respected world design experts was asked to first review each candidate, and then establish a short-list of recommendations for the jurors’ final vote.  The design experts are in alpha order:  Gernot Bracht (Germany – Pforzheim Design School), Ian Callum (United Kingdom – Director of Design, CALLUM), Gert Hildebrand (Germany – Owner Hildebrand-Design), Patrick le Quément (France – Designer and President of the Strategy Committee – The Sustainable Design School), Tom Matano (USA – Academy of Art University, Former Head of Design – Mazda), Victor Nacif (USA – Chief Creative Officer, Brojure.com and Design instructor, NewSchool of Architecture and Design) and Shiro Nakamura (Japan – CEO, Shiro Nakamura Design Associates Inc.).

The five finalists chosen by the design panel for the jurors’ final vote are in alpha order:

• Honda-e
• Land Rover Defender
• Mazda MX30
• Polestar 2
• Porsche 911 turbo

The WORLD CAR FINALS’ excitement will continue to build on Tuesday, March 30^th, 2021 when the Top Three in the World are announced followed by the declaration of the winners in all five categories on Tuesday, April 20^th, 2021. Be part of the moment by following the announcements on World Car TV YouTube.com/worldcartv