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The New York International Auto Show (NYIAS), scheduled for April, is set to host the 2014 World Car Awards, and a list of finalists for five titles - World Luxury Car, World Performance Car, World Green Car, World Car Design of the Year and finally the much-coveted World Car of the Year - has been released. The finalists are as follows:

World Luxury Car
Bentley Flying SpurBMW X5Cadillac ELRCadillac EscaladeMaserati GhibliMaserati QuattroporteMercedes-Benz S-ClassPorsche MacanRange Rover SportRolls-Royce Wraith.

World Performance Car
Alfa Romeo 4CAudi RS 6 AvantBMW M6 Gran CoupeChevrolet Corvette StingrayFerrari 458 SpecialeFord Fiesta STLamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 RoadsterMercedes-Benz A/CLA 45 AMGPorsche 911 GT3Porsche 911 TurboVolkswagen Golf GTI.

World Green Car
Audi A3 Sportback e-tron (and e-gas), BMW i3Honda Accord HybridMitsubishi Outlander PHEVVolkswagen XL1.

2013-ECOTY-BMW-i3

World Car Design of the Year
BMW i3Cadillac CTSCitroen C4 PicassoMazda 3Lexus ISMercedes-Benz C-ClassVolkswagen XL1.

World Car of the Year
Audi A3BMW 4 SeriesBMW i3Cadillac CTSCitroen C4 PicassoFord Fusion/MondeoInfiniti Q50Jeep CherokeeLexus IS, Mazda 3Peugeot 308Skoda Octavia.

The top three finalists in each category will be announced at the Geneva show on March 4, ahead of the prize-giving ceremony in New York. The World Car Awards and NYIAS have announced a five-year alliance that will keep the awards programme in NYC through 2018.

Past World Car of the Year winners include the Volkswagen Golf Mk7, Nissan Leaf, Mazda 2 and Lexus LS 460. The World Car Awards is now in its tenth year.