It is the mission of the World Car Awards and its 100+ global jurors to recognize, reward and inspire automotive excellence, leadership and innovation in a rapidly changing automotive industry on a global scale. To that end we test drive and evaluate new or fully redesigned vehicles that are for sale in multiple markets on more than one continent each year, voting to determine the World Car Design, World Luxury Car, World Performance Car, World Urban Car, World Electric Vehicle and World Car of the Year. Full vehicle eligibility requirements and our annual timeline can be found via the links in the menu above. Now in their 18th year, the annual World Car Awards are the number one awards program in the world for the ninth consecutive year in terms of media reach and analysis of twenty-five top global markets in Cision Insight's 2021 media report. The awards were inaugurated in 2003, and officially launched in January 2004, to reflect the reality of the global marketplace. The awards are intended to complement, not compete, with existing national and regional Car of the Year programs.