Swift, Camry On 2025 World Car Awards Shortlist

Countdown to this year’s World Car Awards has begun with the announcement of the final shortlist from a list of 52 contenders. These were selected via secret ballot by individual jury members from different countries, including India. The final list of 10 cars for World Car of the Year includes (in alphabetical order)

1. Audi A5/S5
2. BMW X3
3. Ford Mustang
4. Hyundai Inster/Casper Electric
5. Kia EV3
6. Mini Cooper Electric
7. Suzuki Swift
8. Toyota Camry
9. Toyota Land Cruiser/Land Cruiser 250
10. Volkswagen Tiguan/Tayron

Three from the above list, namely Cooper Electric, Swift and Camry are already on sale in India. The X3 will arrive soon. Toyota isn’t officially confirming it but we understand the latest Land Cruiser is available for unofficial bookings. The Tiguan isn’t the one currently sold in India. The A5, Casper Electric and EV3 are likely to reach Indian shores in the future. Only the Mustang remains a question mark, yet.

Apart from this, World Car Awards also has 4 sub-category awards that include World Electric Vehicle, World Luxury Car, World Performance Car and World Urban Car. Nominees for Electric Vehicles include:

1. Hyundai Inster/Casper Electric
2. Kia EV3
3. Porsche Macan
4. Volkswagen ID. Buzz
5. Volvo EX90

Once again, all of these are expected to reach Indian shores too at some point.

In the Luxury category, in all 10 cars competed with the following making up the top 5:

1. Lexus GX
2. Porsche Macan
3. Porsche Panamera
4. Volkswagen ID.Buzz
5. Volvo EX90

Despite the EV onslaught around the world, 17 models lined up for Performance Car of the Year. The top five included:

1. Bentley Continental GT Speed
2. BMW M5
3. Ford Mustang
4. Porsche 911 Carrera GTS
5. Porsche Taycan Turbo GT

By contrast, the World Urban Car had only a dozen candidates. Top 5 names were:

1. BYD Seagull/Dolphin Mini
2. Hyundai Inster/Casper Electric
3. Mini Cooper
4. Mini Cooper Electric
5. Suzuki Swift

All cars mentioned above were considered for the World Design of the Year award. A special design panel has chosen the Top 5:

1. Baojun Yunduo/Cloud/MG Windsor EV
2. Kia EV3
3. Mini Cooper
4. Toyota Land Cruiser
5. Volkswagen ID. Buzz

The World Car jurors will now vote for the top design in February. The Top 3 of every category will be announced on March 4. Winners will be announced at the New York motor show on April 16. This is the 20^th year of partnership between World Car Awards and the NY International Auto Show and is also supported by AITASTIC Research & Consult, Brembo, KPMG and Newspress. The Indian jury members on World Car include Dhruv Behl (AutoX), Girish Karkera (Editor-in-Chief, car&bike), Renuka Kriplani (Mashable), Hani Musthafa (Flywheel), Siddharth Vinayak Patankar (Acko Drive), Yogendra Pratap (Auto Today) and Hormazd Sorabjee (Autocar).