Volkswagen’s global fully electric car, the ID.4, has just been awarded the grand prize of World Car of the Year (WCOTY) 2021. This is the 17th edition of the global automotive awards ceremony.
This year’s winner was chosen from an initial entry list of 24 vehicles from all over the world, then a shortlist of three finalists was announced at the end of March.
The Volkswagen ID.4 received a total of 798 points, beating another popular electric car, the Honda e, which amassed 742 points. The Toyota Yaris scored just 10 points lower. Finalists were assessed and given marks in traditional categories (e.g. space, value and performance) as well as more intangible items such as emotional appeal and market significance.
Other models in the pool of finalists include the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe and Mercedes-Benz GLA.
Judged by a panel of 93 international automotive journalists from 28 countries, the WCOTY finalists were selected via a secret ballot, based on their individual evaluation of each eligible vehicle conducted throughout the year as part of their own professional work. The votes were tabulated by KPMG.
There are also categories for more targeted segment such as luxury, performance and design. The winners and finalists are listed as below:
World Luxury Car
- Mercedes-Benz S-Class (853)
- Polestar 2 (815)
- Land Rover Defender (774)
World Performance Car
- Porsche 911 Turbo (822)
- Audi RS Q8 (792)
- Toyota GR Yaris (773)
Unsurprisingly, the Toyota GR Yaris scored big in Value and scored better than the Audi Q8 in the categories of Market Significance and Emotional Appeal.
Curiously, only vehicles in this category are available for sale in Malaysia today (out of the 15 top finalists), with the now-sold-out Toyota GR Yaris asking RM286,896 a unit while the just-introduced Porsche 911 Turbo has a price list that starts from RM2.2 million.
World Urban Car
- Honda e (754)
- Toyota Yaris (737)
- Honda Jazz/Fit (719)
Both the Toyota Yaris and Honda Jazz/Fit are variants for developed nations i.e. Japan and Europe, where safety and emission regulations are more stringent than the products found in ASEAN.
World Car Design of the Year
- Land Rover Defender (299)
- Honda e (239)
- Mazda MX-30 (197)
With more and more fully electric cars being launched every quarter, the organising committee has also introduced a category just for local zero-emission vehicles. The Honda e has been quite popular with the global jurors. Last year, it was awarded as the overall winner of the German Car of the Year 2021.
The jurors in the Women’s World Car of the Year awarded the Honda e as the Best EV while its beautiful design was given the award of ‘Best of the best’ by Red Dot.
Last year’s WCOTY was the Kia Telluride, with the Porsche Taycan taking top honours in the Performance and Luxury categories.
GALLERY
