As more than half of the world's population is living in towns and cities, with the figure expected to increase in the following years, World Car Awards has introduced a new award for 2017: "World Urban Car".
This will be reserved for small vehicles, sitting between 1 and 4 meters (3.28-13.12 feet) in length, which will have to meet the criteria of being safe, quiet, clean, driver-, pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly, comfortable, affordable, flexible and to be capable of reaching motorway speeds.
"Our newly created award will give jurors a chance to evaluate and vote on a small vehicle category that is becoming far more prevalent across the globe and resonates with countless millions of motorists. The award’s time has come of age", said World Car Awards Chairman, Peter Lyon.
In order to qualify for the new award, vehicles will have to be on sale, in the showrooms, on at least two continents by next spring.
The new "Urban Car" will join the other five awards as part of the "World Car of the Year", including "Car of the Year", Luxury Car of the Year", "Performance Car of the Year", "Green Car of the year" and "Car Design of the Year".
The 2016 biggest winner was the Mazda MX-5, which managed to score the awards in both "Car of the Year" and "Car Design of the Year".