In fact, the short list may get less short as time goes by, since it won’t become final until December 1, 2014. Automakers with new models being released between now and then might see more of their wares added to the short list.
By the middle of December, however, the possibly longer short list will be made much shorter as the final list will only have seven cars. From those seven, the 2015 European Car of the Year will be selected and announced on March 2, the day before the opening of the 2015 Geneva Motor Show.
According to its web site, the European Car of the Year “is an international award, judged by a panel of senior motoring journalists across Europe. Its object is to acclaim the most outstanding new car to go on sale in the 12 months preceding the date of the title.”
BMW is looking for its first ECOTY award. Last year the BMW i3 finished in second place behind the Peugeot 308. BMWs also finished second in 1978, 1976, 1969, and in 1967 when the BMW 1600 lost out to the Fiat 124.
It remains to be seen if BMW’s numerical superiority now on the preliminary short list translates into a victory next spring.—Scott Blazey
The full 2015 ECOTY short list—so far:
Audi TT Coupe
BMW 2 Series Active Tourer
BMW 2 Series Coupe
BMW i8
BMW X4
Citroen C1
Citroen C4 Cactus
Fiat 500X
Ford EcoSport
Ford Mondeo
Hyundai i20
Infiniti Q50
Jeep Renegade
Kia Soul
Lexus NX
Lexus RC
Mercedes-Benz C-Class
Mercedes-Benz GLA
Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe
Nissan Pulsar
Nissan Qashqai
Nissan X-Trail
Opel Corsa
Peugeot 108
Porsche Macan
Renault Twingo
Skoda Fabia
Smart ForTwo
Smart ForFour
Subaru WRX STI
Suzuki Celerio
Toyota Aygo
Volkswagen Passat
