After what was surely an exhaustive process, a list of finalists was assembled. Interestingly, the choices are almost entirely luxury vehicles, and most are four-door sedans.
The shortlist does not include a single American entry (save for GM's Opel unit in Germany) or any all-electric nominees. In fact, there is only one entry from outside Europe, and Northern Europe at that - without a single French or Italian car on the list. Nor are there any exotics, since the nominating organization passed new rules for this year eliminating vehicles with smaller production runs.
The winner will be announced in March as usual at the Geneva Motor Show. If BMW, Jaguar, Mazda, Škoda, or Volvo win top honors, it would be the first time for any of them. Audi has won twice, and Opel four times. Fiat holds the most wins with nine, followed by Renault's six and Ford's five.
Recent past winners include the Volkswagen Passat (2015), Peugeot 308 (2014), VW Golf (2013), Chevy Volt/Opel Ampera (2012), and Nissan Leaf (2011).
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