The 2018 World Car of the Year awards were given out this morning at the New York International Auto Show. The winner is a crossover once again: the Volvo XC60. It's the first time Volvo has won the award.
The World Car of the Year awards are voted on by a jury of 82 leading automotive journalists from around the globe. Finalists in the six categories are announced in January, with the top three finalists in each category announced at the Geneva auto show. The winners are announced in New York.
The winner for World Car of the Year was the Volvo XC60 crossover, beating out Mazda's CX-5 and the Range Rover Velar. Volvo CEO Håkan Samuelsson, who was awarded World Car Person of the Year at the Geneva show said that "we are up against some tough competition, but this award for the XC60 shows that Volvo has the right combination of design, connectivity and safety that appeals to customers across the world."
World Luxury Car was awarded to the all-new Audi A8. It was up against the Porsche Cayenne crossover and Porsche Panamera sedan.
The award for 2018 World Performance Car was won by the 600 hp BMW M5. It beat out the Honda Civic Type R and Lexus LC 500.
World Green Car went to the Nissan Leaf electric, ahead of the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid and BMW 530e iPerformance.
2018 World Urban Car was decided between three finalists not available in Canada. The all-new Ford Fiesta and Suzuki Swift fell by the wayside to the Volkswagen Polo.
Finally, 2018 World Car Design of the Year, which goes to the best-looking car, was won by the Range Rover Velar, ahead of the Lexus LC 500 and Volvo XC60.