Here Are All The Contenders For 2019 World Car Of The Year

2018 has barely begun to wind down, but already the jurists for the World Car of the Year are gearing up for next year’s awards. And the first step is to finalize the list of contenders.

This first step on the long road to the 2019 awards involves identifying every all-new model on the global marketplace – not just for the top prize, but for the Luxury, Performance, Green, and Urban categories as well. That amounts to one very long list from which the international panel of experts will make their selections.

With the list of eligible contenders (as reported by Auto Express) now finalized, the committee will hold their annual launch event at the Paris Auto Show next month before holding the first round of test drives in LA come November.

Then they’ll cast their ballots to whittle down the list to the top ten for the top prize (and top five for the other categories, including the best design), and conduct additional test drives in February, voting again, naming the three finalists in each category at the Geneva show in March, and announcing the winners at New York in April.

It’s a long and arduous process for one of the most coveted prizes in the industry. And so without further ado, here are 2019’s contenders:

World Car of the Year
Acura RDX
Audi e-tron
Audi A1
Audi A6
Audi Q3
BMW 3 Series
BMW i8 Roadster
BMW X2
Cadillac XT4
Citroen C5 Aircross
Dacia Duster
Ford Focus
Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid
Hyundai Santa Fe
Hyundai Nexo
Infiniti QX50
Jaguar E-Pace
Jaguar I-Pace
Jeep Cherokee
Jeep Wrangler
Kia Ceed/Forte
Kia Niro EV
Kia Soul
Lexus ES
Lexus UX
Nissan Altima
Nissan Kicks
SEAT Arona
Subaru Forester
Suzuki Jimny
Toyota Avalon
Toyota Corolla
Toyota RAV4
Volvo S60/V60
Volvo XC40

World Luxury Car of the Year
Audi A7
Audi Q8
BMW 8 Series
Mercedes-Benz GLE
Volkswagen Touareg

World Performance Car of the Year
Aston Martin Vantage
BMW M2 Competition
Hyundai Veloster N
Kia Ceed GT
McLaren 720S

World Green Car of the Year
Audi e-tron
BMW i8 Roadster
Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid
Honda Insight
Hyundai Nexo
Jaguar I-PACE
Kia Niro EV
Lexus ES Hybrid
Lexus UX Hybrid
Toyota Avalon Hybrid
Toyota RAV4 Hybrid

World Urban Car of the Year
Audi A1
BMW X2
Kia Soul
SEAT Arona
Suzuki Jimny