Bridgestone to Sponsor World Green Car Award

Bridgestone has obtained exclusive title sponsorship for the 2010 World Green Car Award. The global agreement was drawn up between Bridgestone Corporation of Japan and the World Car of the Year Awards Association, based in Canada, in December 2009. The agreement gives Bridgestone exclusive global branding rights on all communications emanating from the World Green Car Award during the 2010 calendar year and at official awards press conferences to announce the World Green Car three finalists and winner.

The three World Green Car finalists will be announced at the 80th Geneva International Motor Show on March 2. The winning vehicle will then be announced at the New York International Auto Show on April 1.

“We hope that this sponsorship will help underscore to those in the automotive industry as well as to consumers that tyres can help vehicles be more fuel efficient,” said Ryoji Yamada, Bridgestone’s general manager of Brand Management, explaining the reason for the tyre major’s support of the Green Car of the Year award. “Through our environment-friendly ‘Ecopia’ tyre brand we expect to help drivers achieve better mileage, and therefore contribute to a more sustainable mobile society.”

The World Green Car Award was established in 2004 and is part of the overall international World Car of the Year Awards. The awards are administered by an independent non-profit association which aims to reflect the reality of the global marketplace, as well as recognise and reward automotive excellence on a global scale.

The shortlist of three green car finalists has been drawn up by a distinguished panel of “green” experts: Sam Abuelsamid representing North America; Tadashi Tateuchi representing Asia; and Dean Slavnich representing Europe. A jury consisting of 59 of the worlds’ most respected automotive journalists from 25 countries will now choose the winning World Green Car together with winners of the three other Car of the Year categories to be announced in New York: World Performance Car, World Car Design of the Year and the overall World Car of the Year.