Women’s World Car of the Year (WWCOTY)
Ace, How is it you have all these hot chicks coming into your workshop with their car, and I have a bunch of guys in my workshop telling me everything they know about cars? Because, Joe, you own a Mercedes workshop and I own a Volvo workshop.
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It’s a true story told to me after I told a mechanic in the area that the Volvo XC 90 had won Women’s World Car of the Year (WWCOTY).
Women have loved Volvos in general for the long history of safety and reliability Volvo has achieved. The Women’s World Car of the Year, the only all-female automotive voting jury, is confirming that knowledge.
The second-generation mid-sized crossover XC90 won the SUV-Crossover category and in the second round of voting emerged as the overall winner as well.
At the time of the launch President and CEO of Volvo Car Group, Håkan Samuelsson, said that the company was not just launching a car, but re-launching the Volvo brand.
Commenting on the Volvo XC90 capturing the major prize in Women’s World Car of the Year, Volvo Cars President & CEO Håkan Samuelsson, said he is “delighted” about the award.
“With the XC90, Volvo Cars began a relaunch of its brand. This award is a testament that we have come a long way already and that we have succeeded in making the XC90 attractive for a very important audience, so we are of course both honored and delighted.”
2015 Women’s World Car of the Year by category are:
Family Car — Renault Espace
Budget Car — Scion iM/Toyota Auris
SUV Crossover — Volvo XC90
Green Car — BMW i8
Luxury Car — Mercedes S-Class
Performance Car — Mercedes GT AMG
Dream Car Category — Mazda MX5
The judging procedure is rigorous. Jury members first submit their own shortlist preference and from there, an official shortlist is drawn up with the top five cars in each category on the voting list. Judges vote by awarding points under five criteria– engineering, appearance, comfort, storage, and value for money.
The final votes are by secret ballot and monitored by international accountancy company, Grant Thornton New Zealand. From a list of the top cars (the six category winners) judges vote again to determine their choice of a supreme winner. It was from this second round of votes that the Volvo XC90 emerged as the top overall car.
Paul Kane from Grant Thornton, says a voting pattern is not always predictable, “It’s always a tight competition and reaching a final decision for each category and choosing an overall winner is no mean feat. The voting was very close this year and could have swung either way for the Supreme Winner. In fact, all categories were close with no particular standouts.”
Mazda’s fourth-generation MX5/Miata faced formidable opposition in this category that included some of the world’s most famous luxury cars, sports and performance cars.
The 20 judges from 16 different countries are:
Alicia Ryzewski — Argentina
Geraldine Herbert — Ireland
Holly Reich — USA
Jacqui Madelin — New Zealand
Jaedene Hudson — Australia
Jil McIntosh — Canada
Juliet Potter — Australia
Lauren Fix — USA
LouAnn Hammond — USA
Maggie Barry — Scotland
Maria Leitner — Italy
Nguyen Hoa — Vietnam
Regina Chan — Canada
Renuka Kirpalani — India
Sandy Myhre — New Zealand
Sevil Okumus — Turkey
Sue Baker — England
Ylle Rajasaar — Estonia
Marta Garcia Fernandez — Spain
Odiel Mennink — Netherlands
Women’s World Car of the Year – Judging Panel
Sandy Myhre – New Zealand – Honorary President
Marta Garcia – Spain – Executive President
Renuka Kirpalani – India
Charleen Clarke – South Africa
Regina Chan – Canada
Sue Baker – United Kingdom
Jill Mcintosh – Canada
Alicia Ryzewski – Argentina
Jacqui Madelin – New Zealand
Geraldine Herbert – Ireland
Maggie Barry – Scotland
Odiel Mennink – The Netherlands
Ylle Tampere – Estonia
Hoa Huyen – Vietnam
Sara Soria – Spain
Isabel Del Angel Negrete – Mexico
Carla Ribeiro – Portugal
Francisca Munoz Matus – Chile
Nadine Armstrong – Australia
Solveig Grewe – Germany
Anat Daniel – Israel
Liz Swanton – Australia
Ariadne Gerasimidou – Greece
Liza Maria Rojas – Columbia
Guillermina Fossati – Argentina
Petra Walter – Austria
Shereen Shabnam – Dubai
Olesya Repkina – Russia
Michelle Ferreira – Brazil
Nicole Wakelin – United States
Lou Hammond – United States
Alix Capper Murdoch – Cyprus
Ilaria Salzano – Italy
Mervi Varonen – Finland
Sabina Kvasova – Czech Republic
Etsuko Kusuda – Japan
Rita Cook – United States
Miladys Soto – Puerto Rico
Jimena Olazar – Argentina
Malene Raith – Denmark
Beatriz Nunez – Costa Rica
Melina Priam – France
Judith Hernández – Ecuador
