Toshihiro Suzuki, Representative Director and President of Suzuki Motor Corporation said, "We at Suzuki are greatly honoured to receive this award. The Jimny is the one-and-only, compact, authentic off-roader, and we have kept true to this concept for almost 50 years. It now has many fans around the world, who enjoy its excellent performance and one-of-a-kind functional design, both on and off-road. We accept this award on behalf of our fans, as well as with pride and confidence in our passion to build exciting cars to be the foot of our customers everyday lives."

The 2019 World Urban Car winner was chosen from an initial entry list of five cars from all over the world, then a short list of three finalists as announced in Geneva on March 5th. The 2019 Top Three in the World finalists are: the Hyundai AH2/Santro, the Kia Soul and the Suzuki Jimny.

The World Urban Car award was introduced in 2017 because it's an award whose time has come. World Car Awards Program co-chair, Mike Rutherford, commented, "Everyday cars in many - perhaps most - parts of the world will have to become smaller if road and parking space is to be found for them in increasingly packed towns and cities whose populations are swelling annually."

Vehicles were selected and voted on by an international jury panel comprised of 86 prominent automotive journalists from 24 countries around the world. Each juror was appointed by the World Car Steering Committee on the basis of his or her expertise, experience, credibility, and influence. The international accounting firm KPMG tabulates the jurors' ballots.

The Road to the World Car Awards is an annual journey in partnership with the New York International Auto Show. The journey follows our international journalists as they test-drive, and vote on, the 2019 eligible vehicles. The official launch took place in Paris on October 2nd and ended with today's winners' press conference.

World Car made several stops along the way: our fifth annual L.A. Test Drives event concluded the last week of November. The event was an outstanding success with 48 jurors attending from 18 different countries across the six day event. ZF was the event's exclusive host.

World Car also made a stop at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on January 10, 2019 where together World Car and ZF hosted a panel discussion moderated by Tim Stevens (Editor-in-Chief, CNET'S Roadshow and World Car director). The topic for discussion? "The Intersection of Consumer and Automotive Tech."

Of course, The Road To the World Car Awards doesn't really stop. Just a few weeks from now the World Car Garage will be staged for the fourth year at the London Motor & Tech Show May 16-19; offering a glimpse of the 2020 contenders as well as celebrating the 2019 winners.

The Global Trends Report, co-presented annually by Prime Research and Autoneum, was also announced today during the New York show's opening media breakfast. The report is the culmination of research and insights across the past six months. Autoneum CEO Martin Hirzel said: "The Global Trends Report is a valuable instrument for identifying future directions and a guide for prioritizing them. Actual trends such as electric mobility will characterize the automotive industry, what offers exciting development prospects for Autoneum. Our innovative products and technologies for acoustic and thermal management make vehicles quieter, safer, lighter and contribute to a comfortable driving experience. I am looking forward to the announcement of the 2019 World Car Award winners and I am confident that again the majority of all winning models is equipped with Autoneum components!"

PHOTOS and VIDEOS: event photos will be posted the morning of Wednesday, April 17th to www.worldcarawards.com. Photos of the top three car finalists in all categories are already on the web site's home page. Videos from the event will be posted by Wednesday afternoon.

THE ROAD TO WORLD CAR:

BEGAN IN PARIS OCTOBER 2, 2018. ENDS IN NEW YORK APRIL 17, 2019.

FOLLOW OUR 80+ INTERNATIONAL JURORS :

Instagram: @theworldcarawards #wca2019 #WorldCarAwards

Twitter: @worldcarawards #worldcarawards #wca2019

Facebook: www.facebook.com/WorldCarAwards #worldcarawards #wca2019

For additional information visit our web site (www.worldcarawards.com).

Media release distributed by NEWSPRESS – The World Car Awards' Official Media Partner

BACKGROUND

World Car Awards

Now entering their 15th year, the annual World Car Awards are the number one awards program in the world for the sixth consecutive year based on Prime Research's 2018 media report.

The awards were inaugurated in 2003, and officially launched in January 2004, to reflect the reality of the global marketplace, as well as to recognize, reward and inspire excellence, leadership and innovation in a rapidly changing automotive industry.

The awards are intended to complement, not compete, with existing national and regional Car of the Year programs.

The awards are administered by a not-for-profit association, under the guidance of an awards management and advisory group of prominent automotive journalists from Asia, Europe, and North America. Peter Lyon (Co-chair, World Car Awards Program - Japan), Mike Rutherford (Co-chair, World Car Awards Program - UK), Jens Meiners (Partnership director - Germany), Tim Stevens (director - USA), Siddharth Vinayak Patankar (director - India) and Gerry Malloy (president, WCA Association).

New York International Auto Show

Owned and operated by the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association, the New York Auto Show is an awesome combination of new ideas, technological innovation, exceptional concept cars and nearly 1,000 of the latest new cars and trucks. Over one million visitors are expected to visit the show this year to see what is truly possible from the automotive industry.

Important 2019 Auto Show Dates

Automotive Forum: April 16

Press Preview: April 17 and 18 (credentials required)

Public Sneak Preview, Friday, April 19

Public Show Dates, Friday, April 19 – Sunday, April 28th

SOURCE New York International Auto Show