GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: WCOTY finalists announced

German SUV makers are a safe bet to add to their tally of World Car of the Year trophies after dominating the list of finalists announced at the Geneva Motor Show.

All three of the finalists for the outright World Car of the Year trophy, which will be announced in New York next month, were SUVs, including the Volkswagen Tiguan, the Audi Q5 and Jaguar's F-Pace.

The announcement was yet further confirmation that the traditional cars are giving way to the high-rise hatchbacks, even in Europe, where SUVs and crossovers have begun to erode the once-unassailable position of B- and C-segment hatches.

They even get a look in for the more specialised World Green Car and World Car Design trophies, with the Tesla Model X taking one of the three finalist spots in the former and the Jaguar F-Pace doing the same in the latter.

The other World Green Car finalists are the Chevrolet Bolt and the Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid, while the Mercedes-Benz S-Class Cabriolet and the Toyota C-HR line up in the World Car Design category.

The 13th annual WCOTY, which is voted on by 74 jurors from 24 countries, this year introduced a World Urban Car category to reflect the growth of megacities around the world, with the BMW i3, the Citroen C3 and the Suzuki Ignis competing as the three finalists.

Audi's R8 Spyder, the McLaren 570S and the Porsche Cayman/Boxster are the short-listed finalists for the World Performance Car of the Year category, while the World Luxury Car trophy will be decided from the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, the BMW 5-Series and the Volvo S90/V90.