It is that time of year again when “The Car of the Year 2021” award ceremony will be broadcast live from Geneva on the internet on Monday, 1 March 2021.

First awarded in 1964, “The Car of the Year” trophy is the most prestigious and coveted award in the automotive world. A 59-member jury, made up of automotive journalists from 22 countries, selects the winner from seven models that have made it to the round of finalists in the first round of voting.
 

The finalists are: Citroën C4, Cupra Formentor, Fiat 500, Land Rover Defender, Škoda Octavia, Toyota Yaris and Volkswagen ID.3.
 

This year, the voting takes place under special conditions. Instead of the usual opening ceremony on the press days of the Geneva International Motor Show (GIMS), the ceremony will be broadcast as a pure livestream on the Internet, as it was in 2020. And the organisers of “The Car of the Year” are once again drawing on the know-how and experience of the GIMS team.

“We are very happy that the ceremony and awards presentation are to be hosted in Geneva again this year,” says the President of “The Car of the Year”, Frank Janssen.
 

“We are fully committed to our partnership with GIMS. In difficult times it is particularly important to stick together. Because the format of an internet-only broadcast is also an opportunity – it gives us completely new possibilities in presenting the seven finalists. I can hardly wait to go to Geneva and choose 'The Car of the Year 2021',” says Frank Janssen.
 

“And in 2022 we want to do another live event at the Geneva International Motor Show.”
 

Sandro Mesquita, CEO of the Geneva International Motor Show is also looking forward to 1 March 2021: “It's great that 'The Car of the Year' will also come from Geneva in 2021. We would like to thank the jury for their trust and take full advantage of the opportunities offered by the format of a pure live broadcast. Automotive fans can look forward to an exciting awards ceremony and unprecedented staging.”


Behind the scenes, preparatory work is already underway for the 91st edition of Europe's most important mobility show, Mesquita continued: “We are doing everything in our power to ensure that we can soon start preparations for the Geneva International Motor Show 2022. In doing so, we are of course also dependent on the further course of the COVID pandemic.”