BMW calls its new all-electric BMW i3 the world's first from-the-ground-up, designed for emission-free mobility, premium car on the market. On sale in Europe since November 2013, U.S. i3 deliveries are due to start in a few weeks. The i3 is part of BMW’s large display at this year’s New York International Auto Show, which opens this week.
The World Car Awards were announced prior to the official opening of the New York show, and the BMW i3 has snagged two of them. They are pretty big deal awards, too: the 2014 World Car Design of the Year, and the 2014 World Green Car.
"On behalf of the BMW design team, we are delighted that the BMW i3 has received the World Car Design of the Year award," said Dr. Ian Robertson, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Sales and Marketing BMW. "Our designers created a car that, through its design and use of sustainable materials, is an expression of the future." The World Car Design award is intended to reward new vehicles for innovation and style that push established boundaries.
A jury of five highly respected design experts reviewed the 28 eligible candidates in order to pare the list for the final judging. The entire panel of 69 World Car Awards jurors then voted on the design experts’ recommendations, and selected the i3 from the three finalists. The finalist cars that were not selected were the Mercedes-Benz C Class and the Mazda3.
The BMW i3 was also judged 2014 World Green Car. As with the World Car Design award, five experts reviewed the initial fourteen eligible cars, from which three finalists were recommended to the full 69-member panel. In making the final selection, the jury chose the electric BMW because "Radical in looks, construction, and powertrain, the BMW i3 is one of very few clean-sheet-of-paper cars designed from the ground up for efficiency, with the different needs of the new century's megacities in mind. From its last-kilometer navigation system to take drivers from car to destination, to the shipped-around-the-world carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic body shell without a B-pillar, the BMW i3 pushes boundaries on many fronts.”
Speaking on the award for BMW, Dr. Robertson said, “To have the BMW i3 named World Green Car of the Year is a great honor. From the production process onwards, the BMW i3 is a truly sustainable vehicle, created with the needs of the 21st century city in mind.”
The two Green Car finalists that lost to the i3 were the Audi A3 Sportback g-tron and the Volkswagen XL1.
In 2008, the BMW Group also won the title of World Green Car of the Year with the BMW 118d, which incorporated the development strategy of BMW EfficientDynamics.
The World Car Awards are intended to complement, not compete, with other car-of-the-year awards, and are administered by a non-profit association not affiliated with or influenced by any publication, auto show, automaker, or other commercial entity.
It appears that the Germans must be doing things right. The 2014 World Car Awards were swept by German automakers with BMW taking two categories and Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche taking one each. The BMW i3 was also a finalist in the World Car of the Year category but didn't score the hat trick. The Audi A3 took that one. Many past winners have come from other countries, so the awards are not an all-German, all-the-time thing.—Scott Blazey
For the full story on the World Car Awards, visit their web site at http://www.wcoty.com/web/.
