The final countdown to the announcement of the 2013 World Car of the Year is underway. Winners in the four categories - World Car of the Year, World Performance Car, World Green Car and World Car Design of the Year - will be announced at a press conference on 28th March hosted by the New York International Auto Show and Bridgestone Corporation. The top three finalists in each category will be revealed at the Geneva Motor Show on 5th March.

Sixty-six motoring journalists from around the world selected the top ten finalists for the World Car and Performance Car awards. The nominees for 2013 World Car of the Year are: Audi A3, Land Rover Range Rover, Mazda6, Mazda CX-5, Mercedes-Benz A-Class, Peugeot 208, Porsche Boxster/Cayman, Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT86, Volkswagen Golf and Volvo V40. Both the Boxster/Cayman and Subaru/Toyota also feature in the Performance Car shortlist alongside the Aston Martin Vanquish, Audi RS 5, BMW M6, BMW M135i, Ferrari F12, Clio Renaultsport 200 Turbo, Mercedes-Benz SL 63 AMG and the SLS AMG Roadster. The next stage is for the jurors to re-evaluate the top ten to narrow both lists down to a final three.

The World Green Car award is handled by a smaller panel of five experts in environmental technology. Five cars have been identified - including the Renault ZOE, Tesla Model S and Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid - for the sixty-six jurors to review in the February vote. A different expert panel nominated six cars for the 2013 World Car Design of the Year award - a diverse selection comprising the Aston Martin Vanquish, Renault Clio, Range Rover, Jaguar F-Type, Mazda6 and Volkswagen Golf.

This is the ninth annual award with previous winners including the Volkswagen up! in 2012, the Nissan LEAF in 2011 and Volkswagen Polo in 2010. Details of the jurors and the people behind the awards can be found at www.wcoty.com.

John Lambert - 5 Feb 2013