2021 World Car of The Year finalists announced

The finalists for all five categories of the 2021 World Car Awards (WCA) have been announced. These finalists have been selected by 93 distinguished international automotive journalists via a secret ballot vote system. Among these journalists are our very own Hormazd Sorabjee – editor Autocar India, and Renuka Kirpalani, executive editor, the Autocar Show.

• WCA top three finalists to be announced on 30 March, 2021
• Winner for all categories will be announced on 20 April, 2021
• The 2022 WCA will get a new category - World Electric Vehicle of the Year

We have compiled the finalist from each of the 2021 WCA categories below. It is worth mentioning that all categories have five finalists, barring the World Car of The Year (WCOTY) award which has ten.

2021 World Car of the Year (WCOTY):

• 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

2021 World Urban Car of The Year:

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

2021 World Luxury Car of The Year:

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

2021 World Performance Car of The Year:

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

2021 World Car Design of The Year:

Any car that has been selected for any of the above-mentioned category is eligible for this award. However, unlike the other categories, the five finalists have been picked by a panel of seven highly respected world design experts.

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

2021 World Car Award: next steps

From here, the list of finalists will get even shorter as the top three candidates for each WCA category will be announced on 30 March, 2021. You will have to wait a little longer for the final results, as winners for all WCA categories as well as the World Person of the Year award will be announced on 20 April, 2021.

World Car Award – 2022 season

The Road to the World Car Awards journey will begin on 19 August, 2021 at the New York show. Though for next year’s award season, a new award category will be added to the proceedings, in the form of the World Electric Vehicle of the Year award. This award is intended to recognize and support the transition to electrically-powered vehicles being made by automakers globally. The current WCA categories will remain unchanged.  

Also see:

World Car Awards 2020 winners announced video

Kia Telluride crowned World Car of the Year 2020