2009 World Green Car Candidates

Candidates for the 2009 World Green Car award have been announced today, with Volvo joining the list with no less than five models. For those of you who don't know, in order to be eligible for the award, the 2009 candidates must be launched by December 31 as the winner will be announced in April at the New York Auto Show. This year, the first place was claimed by BMW 118d while in 2007, the grand winner was Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec.

What's interesting is that this year's candidates includes a wide range of vehicles, starting with small city cars and ending with SUV hybrids due to reach the market by the end of the year. While Volvo competes for the grand prize with five different models, Audi, Citroen and Honda entered the contest with a single car, namely Q7 3.0 TDI, C1 and Hydrogen Rotary RX8, respectively.

Volvo's five models do nothing more than to underline the Swedish company's efforts to concentrate on green models, often regarded as the best method to get out of the economic crisis and revamp sales. As you probably know, Volvo is currently experiencing very poor sales, with Ford Motor currently looking for a new Volvo investor.

Because we're sure you'd like to view all 2009 World Green Car candidates, here's the complete list (the winner will be announced at the New York Auto Show):

Audi Q7 3.0 TDI
BMW 335d BluePerformance
Chevrolet Tahoe / GMC Yukon Hybrid
Citroën C1
Fiat Palio Weekend Electric
Fiat Siena Tetrafuel model
Honda FCX Clarity
Mazda Hydrogen Rotary RX8
Mercedes-Benz ML/R/GL 320 BlueTEC
MINI Cooper D
MINI E
Mitsubishi iMiEV
Nissan X-Trail 20 GT
smart ed
Subaru Legacy/Outback PZEV
Tesla Electric Roadster
Toyota iQ
Volvo C30 1.6D DRIVe
Volvo S40 1.6D DRIVe
Volvo S80 2.5 FT (Flexifuel)
Volvo V50 1.6D DRIVe
Volvo V70 2.5 FT (Flexifuel)