The best cars in the world? 2018 World Car of the Year contenders announced

Mike Rutherford 2017-09-12 16:00

The World Car of the Year judging panel has released its list of contender models for the 2018 gong

Most of the contender cars on the just-published provisional 2018 World Car of the Year list are designed and built by European firms - including Britain's Jaguar Land Rover.

Last time around, Jaguar's F-Pace won the coveted WCOTY prize but the luxury firm has confirmed to Auto Express that it will be unable to defend its title next year. This is because it's all new E-Pace and I-Pace models will not be available globally by early 2018 when the prize-giving ceremony takes place at the New York International Auto Show.

Instead, sister brand Land Rover will be flying the flag for Britain in the 2018 competition with two super-strong entries - Discovery and Range Rover Velar. This then paves the way for Jaguar to compete for another WCOTY win with E-Pace in 2019, when it could also be a favourite to lift the World Green Car gong with the electric I-Pace.

Japanese and South Korean manufacturers - including underdogs such as Suzuki and SsangYong - will give their European rivals a run for their money in the WCOTY and other World Car categories as they fight for trophies in 2018. But US makers don't feature heavily on the candidate lists.

World Car of the Year/World Car Awards is independently ranked as the number one automotive awards programme on the planet. Auto Express’ very own Steve Fowler and Mike Rutherford are two of the 70-plus WCOTY jurors across the globe.