The 2014 Car of the Year Awards have just been announced at the 2014 NYIAS and the BMW i3 has won both the World Car Design of the Year and the World Green Car of the Year awards!
The i3 beat out the following cars for World Car Design of the Year: Cadillac CTS, Citroen C4 Picasso, Mazda3, Lexus IS, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Volkswagen XL1
And it bested the following cars for World Green Car of the Year: Audi A3 Sportback e-tron , BMW i3, Honda Accord Hybrid, Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and Volkswagen XL1
These awards come on the heels of news that BMW recently increased production of the i3 electric city car 43 percent to meet demand that has exceeded the company's initial expectations. Winning these two prestigious awards should only increase demand even more.
To be eligible for the overall World Car award, the candidates must become available for sale on at least two continents during the period beginning January 1, 2013 and ending May 31, 2014.
Vehicles are selected and voted on by an international jury panel comprised of sixty-nine top-level automotive journalists from twenty-two countries around the world. Each juror was appointed by the World Car Awards’ Steering Committee on the basis of his or her expertise, experience, credibility, and influence. Each juror typically drives and evaluates new vehicles on a regular basis as part of their professional work. All hold significant stature within their own regions and countries.