LOS ANGELES, Nov 9 — The winner of the Green Car Journal’s annual award is set to be announced on November 17 at the LA Auto Show.

The first and still one of the most prestigious honours for environmentally-focused automobiles, this year’s finalists, announced yesterday represent mass-market and luxury brands and come from Europe, the US and Asia.

Though just one nominee, the Chevrolet Bolt, is a pure, 100 per cent plug-in electric car, for the first time, each of the year’s finalists all offer some form of electrification in their powertrain.

"This year’s Green Car of the Year finalists clearly represent the momentum that electrification is experiencing in the auto industry,” said Ron Cogan, Editor and Publisher of Green Car Journal. "Whether it’s all-electric, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or a combination of these powertrains plus conventional gasoline engines within a model line, electrification is now considered by most automakers an essential technology for current and future high-efficiency models.”

Alongside the Chevrolet Bolt, the BMW 330e iPerformance; Chrysler Pacifica; Kia Optima and Toyota Prius Prime will compete for this year’s award.

The winner is decided by a jury led by celebrity car enthusiast Jay Leno and featuring a host of respected environmentalists such as Jean-Michel Cousteau and energy efficiency organisations including Global Green USA. — AFP-Relaxnews