The 2013 Car of the Year nominees have been announced and owing to stiff competition, the slot has been extended from seven cars to eight. This final list of eight cars was derived from an earlier queue of thirty four cars in for the competition. Last year the Chevrolet Volt/Vauxhall Ampera had taken the title home. The Chevrolet Volt was praised for its range-extending hybrid technology. Giving tough competition to the Volt were the Volkswagen Up! and the third generation Ford Focus.
The most important eligibility criteria is that the car must be launched within the twelve month period prior to the awards. The awards are not only limited to European cars, but the overseas manufacturer must be present in at least five European countries. The jury are auto journalists from various publications around Europe. The competition is not segment specific and there will only one winner among the competitors. The initial shortlist included 34 cars.
2013 COTY Shortlisted Nominees Are –
- Ford B-Max
- Hyundai i30
- Mercedes-Benz A-Class
- Peugeot 208
- Renault Clio
- Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT86
- Volkswagen Golf
- Volvo V40
The initial shortlist had an Indian car in the list, the Tata Vista. It is surprising not to see the BMW 3-Series in the final shortlist, while even the Fiat 500L being missing seems to come out as equally shocking. We have a strong feeling, the 2013 European Car of the year award will be heading to Germany and to be specific, Wolfsburg and not Stuttgart.
