THE ROAD TO WORLD CAR THE ROAD AHEAD ...primary.newspress.co.uk/LINKS/WorldCarAwardsNewsletter...THE...
Transcript of THE ROAD TO WORLD CAR THE ROAD AHEAD ...primary.newspress.co.uk/LINKS/WorldCarAwardsNewsletter...THE...
THE ROAD TO WORLD CAR &
THE ROAD AHEADO C T O B E R 2 0 1 7
Introduction
Peter Lyon - Chairman, World Car Awards
The Road to World Car’s 2018 program started in earnest
inside the Jaguar Land Rover stand at the Frankfurt Motor
Show in September.
JLR’s CEO Dr Ralf Speth, New York Auto Show’s president
Mark Scheinberg and British TV personality Ginny Buckley
joined me on stage to celebrate the Jaguar F-Pace’s World
Car of the Year victory after which we initiated the jury
evaluation process for the coming year and announced our
list of eligible vehicles for 2018.
This important ceremony was another outstanding success
as over 120 media and OEM representatives joined World
Car jurors and JLR staff for a champagne reception to kick
off a new year of testing and judging. After a reshuffle of
jurors, World Car enters its new voting season with 83 jurors
from 24 countries and welcomes back presenting partners
in Bridgestone and Autoneum. We will also continue our
ongoing relationships with the New York International Auto
Show, PRIME Research, KPMG and Newspress - our official
media partner.
Representatives from Jaguar Land Rover and World Car Awards at the IAA in Frankfurt
A milestone was reached in April this year when World
Car was invited by NYIAS to open the auto show on the
first press day with its prize-giving ceremony in front of
over 600 media and automotive industry representatives
including seven CEOs. We expect to open the show again
in 2018.
Always aiming to evolve and grow, World Car took
advantage of juror visits to the Tokyo Motor Show in late
October to introduce its first-ever Tokyo test drive session
for jurors based at the state-of-the-art BMW Group Tokyo
Bay, a unique complex with its very own proving ground.
Some ten jurors evaluated eight eligible vehicles from
Toyota, Lexus, Honda, Mazda, Subaru, Suzuki and BMW.
The purpose of the Tokyo test-drives is to offer test drives
of vehicles that are not readily available in certain juror’s
countries.
In November, World Car will for the fourth time stage its
annual “L.A. TestDrives” based at the Westin Pasadena
Hotel. We expect at least 25 jurors from over a dozen
countries to test drive over 20 eligible vehicles as they
decide which cars will receive their highest votes for
the coming season. Like Tokyo, this session is aimed at
providing test driving opportunities to jurors who are
unable to test certain vehicles in their home markets, or
just want a chance to reconfirm previous evaluations.
Then, in mid-January, all jurors will vote in a secret
ballot online to select our top 10 and top 5 finalists in six
categories. These include World Performance Car, World
Luxury Car, World Green Car, World Car Design, World
Urban Car and the prestigious World Car of the Year. After
the finalists have been tallied and presented to jurors by
WCA partner KPMG, jurors will vote a second time online
to select the winners for 2018.
Our top 3 finalists in each category will be announced at
Bridgestone’s stand inside the Geneva Motor Show in early
March before we reveal the six category winners on March
28 at a high profile World Car prize-giving event which
is now the highlight for the New York International Auto
Show’s opening ceremony.
To complete a busy yearly schedule, World Car will display
up to three category winners at a special World Car stand
inside the London Motor Show in May.
It was great to see you in Tokyo last week. We look forward
to seeing you again in L.A. in November. Safe travels.
Jaguar F-PACE is awarded the World Car of the Year award at the New York International Auto Show
World Car Awards Chairman Peter Lyon speaks at the IAA
T H E R O A D T O W O R L D C A R T A K E S M A N Y P A T H S
2018NOMINATIONS
T H E R O A D T O W O R L D C A R T A K E S M A N Y P A T H S
B Y M I K E R U T H E R F O R D , D I R E C T O R & V I C E - C H A I R O F T H E W O R L D C A R A W A R D S
If there was a prize for the most nominated company in the
2018 World Car Awards, a highly unlikely manufacturer -
Kia - would win it.
It’s nothing short of astonishing that the comparatively
small and modest marque from South Korea has beaten
German giants BMW and Volkswagen into joint second
place. And even more remarkable is that Kia has forced its
own ‘big sister’ brand, Hyundai, into fourth position. This
wasn’t in the script.
But the fact that Kia proudly sits on top of the WCA pile at
the minute is no guarantee that its Niro, Picanto, Stinger
and Stonic contenders will win the World Car of the Year
and World Urban Car trophies the company has its sights
on.
The competition is fiercer than ever this time around.
Some countries, companies and cars previously thought
of as underdogs on the global stage are now in with a real
chance of picking up World Car honours at our New York
Auto Show prize-giving ceremony next March.
In this respect, Italy deserves a special mention as does
Alfa Romeo with its three nominations - the same number
that far larger, wealthier Audi has secured. Japan’s highly
competitive Suzuki also has three - the same as Toyota
and Lexus combined!
It’s good to see France’s Renault, Peugeot and Citroen
going for World Car glory, too - along with other relative
newcomers such as Dacia of Romania, SEAT (Spain),
Skoda (Czech Republic) and SsangYong (South Korea).
And while our Top 5 Nations table (below) shows that
German, Japanese and South Korean firms are by far the
most prolific makers of all-new cars for the world at this
time, don’t rule out dark horse candidate countries like the
UK with its Land Rover Discovery and Range Rover Velar.
It has to be said that for a car-producing land of its
magnitude and importance, the USA isn’t currently
producing nearly as many globally significant all-new
cars as might be expected. This explains why there are so
few Cadillacs, Chevrolets, Fords, Chryslers and Jeeps in
contention this year. Japan’s highly competitive Suzuki has three nominations - the same as Toyota and Lexus combined!
T H E R O A D T O W O R L D C A R T A K E S M A N Y P A T H S
Coming back to Kia, on its own it has more nominations
than all those legendary American brands put together.
That’s something that nobody could have or would have
predicted a decade or two ago.
If you’re wondering why some all-new cars - the McLaren
720S Coupe, for example - have somehow failed to make
it onto our provisional lists of eligible vehicles it’s almost
certainly because they will not be on sale in sufficient
numbers on at least two continents by Spring 2018.
Our rules on this are tough but fair - unless a model is ready
to be delivered to paying customers across large parts of
the globe by the early-mid part of next year, it can’t even
be considered to be a 2018 World Car contender.
And this, we believe, is the way it should be.
Don’t rule out dark horse candidate countries like the UK with its Land Rover Discovery and Range Rover Velar.
SEAT (Spain) is one of many relative newcomers in this year’s lineup, with its new Ibiza hatchback
TOTAL NUMBER OF NOMINATIONS IN 2018 WORLD CAR AWARDS
Kia 6 (South Korea)
BMW 5 (Germany)
Volkswagen 5 (Germany)
Hyundai 4 (South Korea)
Nissan 4 (Japan)
Audi 3 (Germany)
Alfa Romeo 3 (Italy)
Suzuki 3 (Japan)
Ford 2 (USA)
Honda 2 (Japan)
Land Rover 2 (UK)
Lexus 2 (Japan)
Porsche 2 (Germany)
Renault 2 (France)
SEAT 2 (Spain)
Volvo 2 (Sweden)
Buick/Opel/Vauxhall 1 (USA/Germany/UK)
Chevrolet 1 (USA)
Chrysler 1 (USA)
Citroen 1 (France)
Dacia 1 (Romania)
Ferrari 1 (Italy)
Genesis 1 (South Korea)
Jeep 1 (USA)
Lamborghini 1 (Italy)
Mazda 1 (Japan)
Mitsubishi 1 (Japan)
Opel/Vauxhall 1 (Germany/UK)
Peugeot 1 (France)
Skoda 1 (Czech Republic)
SsangYong 1 (South Korea)
Subaru 1 (Japan)
Toyota 1 (Japan)
TOP 5 NOMINATIONS BY NATION
Germany 17
Japan 14
South Korea 12
Italy 5
USA 5
THE CONTENDERS 2 0 1 8 W O R L D C A R A W A R D S
WORLD CAR OF THE YEAR
Alfa Romeo GiuliaAlfa Romeo Stelvio
BMW X3
Buick Regal / Opel/Vauxhall Insignia
Citroën C3 Aircross
Dacia Duster
Ford Fiesta
Genesis G70
Honda Accord
Hyundai Kona
Jeep Compass
Kia NiroKia PicantoKia StingerKia Stonic
Land Rover DiscoveryRange Rover Velar
Mazda CX-5
Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross
Nissan LEAFNissan Micra
Opel/Vauxhall Crossland X
Peugeot 3008
Renault Koléos
SEAT Ibiza
Skoda Karoq
SsangYong Rexton G4
Subaru XV/Crosstrek
Suzuki Swift
Toyota Camry
Volkswagen PoloVolkswagen T-RocVolkswagen Arteon
Volvo XC60Volvo XC40
WORLD URBAN CAR
Ford Fiesta
Hyundai Kona
Kia PicantoKia Stonic
Nissan Micra
SEAT Ibiza
Suzuki Swift
Volkswagen Polo
WORLD LUXURY CAR
Audi A8
BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo
Lexus LS
Porsche CayennePorsche Panamera
WORLD PERFORMANCE CAR
Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio
Audi RS 3 SedanAudi RS 5 Coupé
BMW M5
Ferrari Portofino
Honda Civic Type R
Hyundai i30N
Lexus LC 500
Renault Alpine A110
Suzuki Swift Sport
Volkswagen Polo GTI
WORLD GREEN CAR
BMW 530e iPerformance
Chevrolet Cruze Diesel
Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid
Hyundai FE
Nissan LEAF
WORLD CAR DESIGN
All vehicles above are automatically entered, plus the following:
BMW i8 Roadster
Lamborghini Urus
P R O V I S I O N A L L I S T O F E L I G I B L E V E H I C L E S
AUSTRALIAJ O S H U A D O W L I N G
P A U L G O V E R
AUSTRIAS T E P H A N S C H Ä T Z L
BRAZILJ A S O N V O G E L
L U I Z G U E R R E R O
CANADAM I C H E L D E S L A U R I E R S
S A M I H A J - A S S A A D
M A R K R I C H A R D S O N
CHINAX I A D O N G
L I G E N G
L U I H O N G C A N G
C U I J U N
M I A O J U N
W I L L I A M W A N G K U N
X I O N G H U I ( S E A N ) Q I U
Y U N Q I N G W A N G
S V E N X U
L I A N G Z H A O H U I
COLOMBIAJ O S É C L O P A T O F S K Y
L O N D O Ñ O
UNITED KINGDOM
M I K E R U T H E R F O R D –
V I C E - C H A I R , W O R L D
C A R A W A R D S S T E E R I N G
C O M M I T T E E
R I C H A R D A U C O C K
N A T B A R N E S
R I C H A R D B R E M N E R
K Y L E F O R T U N E
S T E V E F O W L E R
C H A R L I E T U R N E R
FRANCES Y L V A I N R E I S S E R
L I O N E L R O B E R T
GERMANYJ E N S M E I N E R S – V I C E -
C H A I R , W O R L D C A R
A W A R D S S T E E R I N G
C O M M I T T E E
C H R I S T I A N B R I N K M A N N
T H O M A S G E I G E R
G R E G K A B L E
Y O S H I H I R O K I M U R A
P E T E R S C H W E R D T M A N N
D E S S E L L M E I J E R
INDIAS I D D H A R T H V I N A Y A K
P ATA N K A R – D I R E C T O R ,
W O R L D C A R A W A R D S
S T E E R I N G C O M M I T T E E
D H R U V B E H L
S I R I S H C H A N D R A N
G I R I S H K A R K E R A
Y O G E N D R A P R A T A P
H O R M A Z D S O R A B J E E
IRELANDE D D I E C U N N I N G H A M
ITALYC L A I R E B E L
A L E S S A N D R O L A G O
M I C H A E L T A Y L O R
A L E S S A N D R O
M A R C H E T T I T R I C A M O
JAPANP E T E R L Y O N –
C H A I R M A N , W O R L D
C A R A W A R D S S T E E R I N G
C O M M I T T E E
S H I N I C H I K A T S U R A
Y A S U H I K O K A W A M U R A
H I D E S H I M A T S U D A
G O R O O K A Z A K I
K O J I O Z A W A
K A Z U N O R I Y A M A U C H I
M O T O H I R O Y A M A Z A K I
MEXICOH E R N A N A C E V E S
C R I S T I A N M O R E N O
C A R L O S S A N D O V A L
MIDDLE EAST/U.A.E/EGYPT
M O H A M E D S H E T A
N E T H E R L A N D S
H E N N Y H E M M E S
POLANDM A C I E J P E R T Y N S K I
PORTUGALG U I L H E R M E C O S T A
JURORSB Y C O U N T R Y
2 0 1 8 W O R L D C A R A W A R D S
RUSSIAD M I T R Y B A R I N O V
V L A D I M I R S O L O V I E V
V I T A L Y T I S H C H E N K O
SLOVENIAM I L O S M I L A C
SOUTH AFRICAH A N N E S O O S T H U I Z E N
SOUTH KOREAC H A R L E Y C H A E
J O O S I K C H O I
SPAINF E R N A N D O G Ó M E Z
B L A N C O
M A N U E L G Ó M E Z B L A N C O
USAT I M S T E V E N S –
D I R E C T O R , W O R L D C A R
A W A R D S S T E E R I N G
C O M M I T T E E
E R I C A D A M S
M A T T A S K A R I
R O B E R T O B A L D W I N
Z A C E S T R A D A
S T E V E N E W I N G
J O N A T H A N G I T L I N
R I C H A R D H O M A N
J O E L O R I O
J O H N M C C O R M I C K
J A S O N S T E I N
J A C L Y N T R O P
T A M A R A W A R R E N
PLUGGED-IN FOR THE FUTURE
T H E R O A D T O W O R L D C A R T A K E S M A N Y P A T H S
B Y S I D D H A R T H V I N A Y A K P A T A N K A R , D I R E C T O R O F T H E W O R L D C A R A W A R D S
The world is going electric, whether you like it or not. The
electric car has taken the exit off the peripheral road, on
to the mainstream one, and is here to stay. 2018 is already
being called the year of the big shift; as companies,
countries and consumers start to mass-adopt the electric
vehicle (EV).
In the past year we have seen massive announcements from
not just governments but also automakers to completely
revolutionise the way they do their business and run their
production today.
I will get into specifics of those announcements but first
it is important to understand where this electric push is
coming from.
It starts with pollution – and governments like China’s have
quickly understood how this is a hot button topic for this
day and age. Which is why China wants to lead the world in
electric car production.
But staying with pollution, study after study shows how
particulate matter is the chief culprit of bad air quality,
followed by toxic gases and fumes. In any case, the internal
combustion is a minority contributor to the problem –
sometimes with an impact as low as 5-10%.
But still we find a crusade against the fossil-fuel engine
and a sentiment shift to electric gripping the world. Cities
like Paris, Athens, Madrid and Mexico City have declared
that they will ban the entry of diesel driven vehicles into
city limits after 2025.
Countries are announcing electric switchover deadlines.
India says it wants to go electric by 2030, China, Britain
and France have announced 2040, and Germany is also
looking at a 2040-50 timeline. But as the debates rage
on – where the electricity will come from to charge these
cars, for instance – automakers have seen the shift in the
tide and are now making huge plans and investments to be
future ready and protect their businesses from the tsunami
that is coming. Paris will go electric from 2040, largely driven by fears over air quality. Photo by Falcon Photography: CC BY-SA
China wants to lead the world in electric car production. Photo by Linuxthink: CC BY-SA
Big announcements? Indeed yes, but what we still do
not know is where all of this takes us – politically and
economically – as well in environmental terms.
Experts predict that a massive shift to electric vehicles
and the subsequent drop in demand for oil, will lead to
major instability in the middle-east and other oil producing
regions.
This could have repercussions of a geo-political nature we
cannot predict at this time. There is still the question of
artificial intelligence and autonomy that is yet unanswered,
and what impact that will have on the automobile industry.
In the middle of all these investments that motown is
having to make, we must not forget that the world is also
debating a shift to autonomous vehicles. It is largely agreed
that it will take time to fix regulations and infrastructure
needed for autonomous vehicles, rather than worry about
the technology itself – as the latter is almost ready today!
With autonomous cars the expectation is there will be a
dramatic drop in accidents and fatalities, a huge increase
in efficiency achieved by these vehicles – meaning longer
range of travel, and incremental benefits to the GDP of
countries worldwide (from the efficiencies, savings from
reduced accidents, and lesser expense on budgets due to
the depleted relevance of fossil fuels). And then there is
the rising trend of ride sharing that begs the question –
will car makers of tomorrow be manufacturers or service
providers to the consumer of the future?
Lots to grapple with, and hence one of the most exciting
eras to live through for sure, isn’t it?
Mercedes-Benz recently declared that it would have its
first all-electric car by 2020 under its new EQ branded
range. Two years later it will offer electric versions of every
single car model it makes.
The Smart brand is likely to go all-electric by 2020. Porsche
says that by 2023, half of the cars rolling off its production
will be electric. Volvo has announced that every car it
unveils from 2019 onwards will have an electric motor,
either as an all-electric EV, plug-in hybrid or hybrid.
Jaguar has the same target for 2020. Audi has already
gone big with its e-trons and now the AI badging its future
cars will get. It will have an all-electric range by 2020. And
BMW will have a staggering 25 electric cars by 2025, with
the X3 set to become its first electric SUV in 2020.
The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance will have 12 new
electric cars by 2022 and is already showing off its second
generation Nissan LEAF that has doubled its range to 240
km on a single charge (set to go to 320 km by 2019).
Toyota, Suzuki and Denso have announced a battery
making joint venture in India. Toyota is also working with
Denso to bring out fast charging EVs by 2022.
Volkswagen will begin deliveries of its first electric model
by 2020. VW also says 50 electric cars will get added to its
portfolio by 2025 by which time it hopes to overtake Tesla
as the largest seller of EVs. The VW Group will see 300 EV
models across its 9 brands by 2030!
Former world number one GM also aims to launch two
electric cars by 2019, and 20 all-electrics by 2023.
Image: US Department of Transpartation
Nissan is already showing off its second generation Nissan LEAF that has doubled its range to 240 km on a single charge
T H E R O A D T O W O R L D C A R T A K E S M A N Y P A T H S
VW says 50 electric cars will be added to its portfolio by 2025
IAA 2017: AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE
T H E R O A D T O W O R L D C A R T A K E S M A N Y P A T H S
B Y J E N S M E I N E R S , V I C E - C H A I R M A N O F T H E W O R L D C A R A W A R D S
Another auto show with few surprises: Virtually every
carmaker sent out so much information prior to the show
that the press day visitor felt like he had seen everything
already. Unless the goal was to meet colleagues or industry
representatives in person, most writers might as well have
covered it from home.
But there were a few exceptions - notably, the AMG Project
One: This “hypercar” is not only extremely fast but also
extremely efficient. A possible downside: Its technology
comes straight from Formula One, but this racing series is
not exactly on the rise, and the rules leading to the current
pack of contenders have actually been strongly criticized.
Another hypercar, the Bugatti Chiron, has taken a different
approach, betting on sheer engine size and power. Bugatti’s
subsequent mistake: Aligning their communication along
the 0-400-0 km/h narrative. They could have expected it
would be broken by someone else shortly. It doesn’t matter
that the Chiron is infinitely more refined than a Koenigsegg.
The Audi Aicon was another surprise (although I have seen
it before), a fully autonomous concept car which does away
entirely with pedals and a steering wheel. The opportunities
this architecture allowed were only partially harnessed,
with a starkly “reduced” exterior, diffuse lighting, and a
lounge-type interior without headrests and air bags: They
are not needed anymore in a fully autonomous car.
BMW explored the same genre with the iVision Dynamics, a
concept that seemed somewhat unfinished and did not even
allow a look inside. Outside, the “Hofmeister kink” is gone,
the kidney grille has grown, but it’s not a grille anymore.
BMW chief Harald Krüger says the car will provide a sporty
feel. Unlike the Audi, it is designed to still let you take the
wheel if you so desire.
The fully electric VW I.D. Crozz and the Skoda Vision E are
variations of the same MEB platform, and the styling is
surprisingly honest about it; I would have expected more
differentiation. Economies of scale, quite obviously, still
apply in the world of electrics.
Cars for customers
While we are vocally ascertained that the world of electrified
pods and lounges may be just around the corner and that
we will all love it, since it relieves us from the dreadful task
of driving (that’s the narrative, believe it or not), there
were plenty of cars that we’d rather drive without any
assistance, thank you very much.
One of them is the 115-horsepower Volkswagen Up GTI. It
will deliver a direct and unfiltered driving experience, light-Extremely fast and extremely efficient: The AMG Project One at the IAA. Photo by Matti Blume: CC BY-SA
Several established brands, including some of the most
vocal on electrification, are shooting for the segment of
large and powerful SUVs. Witness the awesome Land Rover
Discovery SVX - with a supercharged 525-horsepower V-8.
Every one of their new cars from 2020 onwards will be
“electrified”, but this one isn’t.
Then there’s the new BMW X7, shown in the form of a
concept car. Sure, there’s a “plug-in hybrid” under the
hood - with a mere 6 cylinders. You can bet that BMW
will offer a V-8 in the production car, and it will be wildly
popular.
Meanwhile, Porsche is launching the new Cayenne with
a top-of-the-line Turbo version that makes a full 550
horsepower. But the brand is so shaken by the diesel
scandal that they are not yet ready to commit to the new
Cayenne V6 and V8 diesel, even though they are ready
for the market. If Porsche believes that they can move
these customers into their upcoming hybrids and that the
customers will actually love the experience, they may be in
for a rude awakening.
Many paths are open in the automotive world these days,
and Frankfurt showcased a lot of them, but a true sense
of direction was absent. Tesla, the great disruptor, was
missing, as were a number of mainstream brands such as
Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Peugeot and Nissan. At least Chancellor
Merkel didn’t fail to appear before the industry - and deliver
another variation of her ceaseless admonishment.
In other words, this year’s Frankfurt auto show was as fun
and entertaining as ever. Enlightening, it wasn’t.
T H E R O A D T O W O R L D C A R T A K E S M A N Y P A T H S
weight design, and clean shapes. No wonder VW likens it to
the original Golf GTI.
Crossover SUVs are still the rage: The Volkswagen T-Roc
may be the brand’s most important model in Europe and
China, and the Audi Q2 is doing extremely well for the
brand. Virtually every brand is moving into the compact
crossover segment, and the Chinese brands, which have
a head start, are unable to use it outside of their home
market.
Their move into Europe is beginning right now. Great Wall
is launching with their luxury brand Wey: The two SUV
models, VV5s and VV7s, are beautifully executed, just like
the plug-in hybrid called P8. If the technology delivers what
the design promises, they could work quite well in Europe.
By contrast, Chery has chosen to launch their mainstream
brand in Europe, even though they could have opted to
use the more upmarket Qoros brand, which already has
some recognition - and vastly superior design. A wasted
opportunity.
Then there’s Borgward, the long-forgotten German brand
resurrected by the Chinese. The European market launches
of the current BX5, BX6 and BX7 models, designed before
the mother company Foton even decided to go for the
Borgward name, are just around the corner.
But the Isabella Concept is stunning - and indicative of
the brand’s future design language. It does without retro
elements, which we found curious, given chief designer
Anders Warming’s history with Mini.
Stunning: Borgward’s Isabella concept does without retro styling elements
Land Rover Discovery SVX: Several established brands, including some of the most vocal on electrification, are shooting for the segment of large and powerful SUVs.
WORLD CAR STAGES ITS FIRST-EVER TOKYO TEST DRIVE
T H E R O A D T O W O R L D C A R T A K E S M A N Y P A T H S
12 jurors, 8 cars gather at BMW Group Tokyo Bay
Always evolving, always pushing the limits of what’s
possible -- that’s the nature of the world’s No 1 car awards
program. So it was this year that World Car decided to
make the most of our juror visits to Japan for the biannual
Tokyo Motor Show by staging our first-ever Tokyo Test
Drive event.
At the outset, a very special thanks must go to BMW Japan
for allowing World Car to use their massive, state-of-the-
art BMW Group Tokyo Bay showroom theme park as a base.
A dozen jurors from Australia, Canada, Italy, Germany,
Korea and the U.K. gathered before the first press day --
24 hours after a powerful typhoon passed through the city,
to test drive eight eligible vehicles on the firm’s unique test
track as well as public roads around the facility. Roughly the size of a baseball field, BMW’s on-site test
track is the largest of its kind in the Tokyo metropolitan area
and enabled jurors to test cars back to back in a controlled
environment and secure some necessary photographs for
test drive reports.
Two other jurors from India, who could not attend our
official drive day due to prior engagements, were able to
test drive three eligible cars the previous day, giving them
precious insight into some of the most hotly contested
categories for 2018.
Apart from the eight visiting jurors from overseas, four
Japan-based jury members also participated in this first-
ever drive experiment. On the OEM side, several staffers
from Honda and Suzuki press departments also made
appearances to support the inaugural event.Most of the assembled vehicles were cars that jurors could not drive in their home markets – cars like the Suzuki Swift Sport
B Y P E T E R L Y O N , W O R L D C A R A W A R D S C H A I R M A N
A dozen jurors from Australia, Canada, Italy, Germany, Korea and the U.K. gathered before the first press day to test drive eight eligible vehicles
that non-American jurors find difficult to access in their
home countries. For the L.A. event, World Car expects
to welcome jurors from as far afield as Australia, Brazil,
Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Poland,
Russia, UK and of course the U.S.
In the meantime, we look forward to seeing as many jurors
as possible at our “L.A. Test Drives” November 26 - 30th.
Safe travels!
T H E R O A D T O W O R L D C A R T A K E S M A N Y P A T H S
Most of the assembled vehicles were cars that jurors could
not drive in their home markets – cars like the just launched
BMW X3, Honda Civic Type R, Lexus LC500h, Mazda CX-5,
Subaru XV, Suzuki Swift Sport and Toyota Camry. After a
brief facility tour by BMW Japan CEO Peter Kronschnabl, in
which jurors learned a lot about the Japanese market, the
test drive started in earnest along the Wangan expressway.
World Car has now added the biannual Tokyo Test Drive
to an expanding line-up of global events organised to
coincide with major motor shows, thus lifting the brand’s
cache around the world. This menu begins with our annual
drive program launch at the reigning WCOTY winner’s
stand inside the Frankfurt or Paris shows in September,
then moves onto the Tokyo Test Drive in October before
proceeding to the Los Angeles Test Drives in November,
at which over two dozen jurors drive some 20-plus eligible
vehicles.
In the same way as the Tokyo event gives visiting jurors
the chance to drive some Japanese cars with limited
global accessibility, the “L.A. Test Drives” are critically
important as they provide jury members with access to
many American, Korean, Swedish and German contenders
World Car Awards Chairman Peter Lyon addresses eager jurors ahead of the drive event
Visiting jurors and test models at the World Car Awards Tokyo Test Drive event
BMW Japan CEO Peter Kronschnabl led a tour of the Tokyo Bay facility, offering insights into the Japanese market
WORLD CAR AWARDS, JAGUAR AND McLAREN IN THE LIMELIGHT
AT LONDON MOTOR SHOW
T H E R O A D T O W O R L D C A R T A K E S M A N Y P A T H S
Jaguar’s two World Car Awards victories in April were
game-changers. The pair of newly-acquired trophies
promptly, prominently and proudly went on display within
the British firm’s glitzy exhibits at the New York and
Shanghai Auto Shows.
But at the smaller, more intimate London Motor Show a
few days later in early May, WCA had its very own stand
where the victorious Jag F-PACE, sporting a unique WCOTY
livery, was displayed alongside those much travelled and
coveted World Car of the Year and World Car Design of the
Year gongs.
Special security measures were deployed 24 hours a day
to protect the pair of priceless awards which the car-
mad British public seemed as interested in as the winning
vehicle itself. As one London showgoer accurately observed:
“These are the ‘Oscars’ of the car world and although you
often hear about such trophies, they’re rarely shown in the
flesh to ordinary members of the public like me - so it was
great to see them at the London Show.”
Jeremy Hicks, Jaguar UK’s Managing Director, added:
“Since winning WCOTY, F-PACE has become one of the
greatest British automotive success stories and the
fastest-selling Jaguar ever; fully designed, developed and
built in the UK, it has in 2017 triumphed over some of the
world’s largest brands to win two World Car of the Year
titles. It was only right that the car and both of the trophies
it won were displayed in the UK at the London Motor Show
for the whole nation to see.”The World Car Awards stand at the London Motor Show attracted thousands of showgoers keen to closely inspect Jag’s F-PACE - the 2017 WCOTY
B Y M I K E R U T H E R F O R D , D I R E C T O R & V I C E - C H A I R O F T H E W O R L D C A R A W A R D S
HRH Prince Michael of Kent made a beeline for the World Car stand at the London Show in 2016 and again in 2017
Beaufort Securities confirmed that thousands of visitors
from the the UK and further afield dropped in on the World
Car stand which also included another true Brit - the
McLaren 570S which was one of the runners-up in our 2017
World Performance Car competition.
Showgoers appreciated the fact that they could get up close
and personal with the F-PACE and 570S while speaking
with World Car personnel about why these two models
were so highly rated by our global network of independent
jurors who voted back in January and February for their
favourite cars of 2017.
The first round of voting for the 2018 World Car Awards is
now less than three months away. And for the third year in
succession, WCA will have its own stand at the next London
Motor Show.
The exhibition will be staged at Excel, a stone’s throw from
London City Airport between May 17 and 20, 2018.
Journalists/jurors from Britain and overseas can obtain
media passes by going to:
thelondonmotorshow.co.uk/press-registration-form/
T H E R O A D T O W O R L D C A R T A K E S M A N Y P A T H S
Alec Mumford, Chairman of the London Motor Show said:
“It’s thanks to credible exhibitors like the World Car Awards
and the presence of exciting cars like the WCOTY-winning
Jaguar F-PACE that the London Motor Show has grown in
popularity and stature and is therefore able to move to a
bigger, better, more upmarket venue from 2018.”
Celebrities, sports stars, leading motor industry figures,
ex-Formula One drivers and a member of the Royal Family
visited the World Car stand at Britain’s motoring event of
2017 in the capital of England.
A would-be McLaren buyer gets behind the wheel of the McLaren, courtesy of WCA at the London Motor Show.
Tiff Needell - a daily visitor to the World Car stand in London last year and this year
A McLaren 570S, one of the runners-up in our 2017 World Performance Car competition, surrounded by champagne bottles at the World Car Awards stand. Photo: Julian Greenley
wcoty.com or Beth Rhind, Executive Manager, [email protected]
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