HomeCar NewsAlmost half the candidates for 2016 European Car of the Year award...

Almost half the candidates for 2016 European Car of the Year award are India bound

Forty new cars which have been launched in Europe in the past one year, have been shortlisted as contenders for the prestigious 2016 European Car of the Year awards. The list was drawn from a long list of both premium and volume selling cars, some of which are yet to be launched.

One of the candidate if Honda Jazz, which is scheduled for launch on 8th July in India.

These 40 contenders are new cars currently on sale or will be on sale prior to December 2015 in 5 or more European countries. This list of 40 will be reduced significantly with the list being revealed on December 1, 2015 while by 14th December 2015 the list of finalists will be down to 7.

With final winner to be announced on 29th February 2016 at the Geneva Motor Show. The full list of cars which have been shortlisted:

Alfa Romeo Giulia
Audi A4
Audi Q7
Audi R8
BMW X1
BMW 7-Series
Ferrari 488 GTB
Fiat Aegea

Ford S-Max / Galaxy
Ford Edge
Ford Mustang
Honda Jazz

Honda HR-V
Hyundai Tucson
Infiniti Q30
Jaguar XE
Jaguar XF

Kia Optima
Kia Sorento
Land Rover Range Rover Sport
Mazda2
Mazda CX-3
Mazda MX-5
McLaren 570S
Mercedes-Benz GLC / GLC Coupe
Mercedes-Benz GLE / GLE Coupe
Mercedes-AMG GT

Opel Karl
Opel Astra
Renault Talisman
Renault Espace
Renault Kadjar
Ssangyong Tivoli
Subaru Levorg
Subaru Outback
Suzuki Vitara
Škoda Superb
Tesla Model X
Toyota Mirai
Volkswagen Touran
Volvo XC90

What is surprising is that almost half of the shortlisted cars or their derivative (in case of Fiat Aegea) are scheduled to be launched in India. To be precise 18; of which 2 are already launched – Volvo XC90 and Ferrari 488 GTB, while the third will be launched in two days, on 8th July – Honda Jazz.

Other cars which are expected to be launched in India this year are Audi A4, Audi Q7, BMW X1, BMW 7 Series, Mercedes GLE, Mercedes GLC, Mercedes AMG GT, Ford Mustang, and Jaguar XE. The remaining cars will be launched in 2016/17.

Rafael Nadal with his new Mercedes AMG GT, which is scheduled for India launch later this year.

This is the first time that so many India-bound cars have featured as candidates for 2016 European Car of the Year. (The car names in BOLD are expected to be launched in India.)

Speaking about recent winners, last year Volkswagen Passat won the award, while in 2014 it was Peugeot 308 and in 2013 VW Golf won the European Car of the Year award. Green cars have also been on the list in recent years with Nissan Leaf and Opel Ampera/Chevrolet Volt taking the award in 2011 and 2012 respectively while BMW i3 finished as runner up in 2014.

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