(APRIL 24, 2011) NEW YORK (PRNewswire) — The Chevrolet Volt has been named the 2011 World Green Car. The award was sponsored by the Bridgestone Corporation — Japan.

The Volt was chosen from an initial entry list of 12 new vehicles from all over the world, then a short list of 10, then three finalists: the Chevrolet Volt, the BMW 320d EfficientDynamics Edition and the Nissan Leaf.

"The selection of the Volt as the World Green Car is a further proof point of the fuel efficient technologies that are now being offered by the Chevrolet brand around the world," said Rick Schiedt, vice president of Chevrolet Marketing.

Ryoji Yamada, General Manager of Bridgestone Brand Management said, "We are very pleased and honored to sponsor the 2011 World Green Car award. The environment is everyone's responsibility. And throughout our global family of companies, we take this responsibility very seriously.

"We believe it is our mission to serve society with superior quality... not just with eco-friendly products but also in the way we produce those products and the way in which we support our many communities with environmentally-friendly activities such as wildlife habitats and our Lake Biwa initiative in Japan ".

To be eligible for the 2011 World Green Car award, a vehicle had to be all-new, or substantially revised, in production and introduced for sale or lease to the public in quantities of at least 10 in at least one major market during the period beginning Jan. 1, 2010 and ending May 30, 2011.  Tailpipe emissions, fuel consumption, and use of a major advanced power plant technology (beyond engine componentry), aimed specifically at increasing the vehicle's environmental responsibility, were all taken into consideration.

Due to the complexity of some of the "green" technologies, three green experts were appointed by the World Car Awards Steering Committee to extensively review all documentation and specs associated with each candidate.  They were asked to create a short-list of finalists for review by the 66 jurors in their second round of voting in February. Their ballots were then tabulated by the international accounting firm KPMG.