(April 4, 2015) NEW YORK — Mercedes-Benz won three categories in the prestigious "World Car Awards 2015." The ceremony was held during press days of the New York International Auto Show this week.

Particular success was enjoyed by the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, (pictured at top) which won the "World Car of the Year 2015 Award." The S-Class Coupé was voted "World Luxury Car 2015," while the Mercedes-AMG GT sports car picked up the award for "World Performance Car 2015."

The Mercedes-Benz C-Class was chosen as World Car from an initial entry list of 24 vehicles from all over the world, then a short list of 12, then three finalists:  the Ford Mustang, the Volkswagen Passat, and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

This is the second year in a row that Mercedes-Benz has won the World Luxury Car title with the new S-Class Coupe.  The company also won last year’s inaugural award for the S-Class when the new category was created in to acknowledge higher-priced premium models selling in more limited numbers worldwide.

The Mercedes AMG GT was chosen from an initial entry list of 12 cars from all over the world for the World Performance Car award, then a short list of 10, then three finalists:  the AMG GT as well as the BMW M4 Coupe/M3 Sedan and the Jaguar F-Type R Coupe.

The BMW i8 was declared the 2015 World Green Car. This is the second year in a row that the BMW Group has won the World Green Car title and the third time since 2010. The BMW i3 won the 2014 World Green Car award while BMW’s BlueMotion technology won the award in 2010. In total, the BMW Group has won a total of four World Car Awards including the prestigious overall World Car of the Year in 2006 for the BMW 3-Series. 

The Citroen C4 Cactus, pictured at right, was declared the 2015 World Car Design of the Year. Citroen is no stranger to the World Car Awards program. Citroen won the inaugural 2006 World Car Design of the Year award for the C4.  And, Citroën has been a “Top Three in the World” finalist in the world design category six times out of 10 including this year — 2015, 2012, 2010, 2009, 2007 and 2006. 

Mercedes-Benz was the only automobile manufacturer to make it into the final round of the awards with five vehicles. This performance is unprecedented in the 11-year history of the "World Car of the Year" awards and serves to reflect the tremendous popularity of the Stuttgart-based brand among their customers. The international jury for these prestigious awards is made up of 75 renowned automotive journalists.

Mercedes-Benz has found favor with the jury in previous years too: In 2014 the S-Class won the category "World Luxury Car." In 2012 the S 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY was the winner in the category "World Green Car," while the same award was taken back in 2007 by the E 320 BlueTEC.