Not to be outdone by the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards held at this month’s 2011 Detroit Auto Show, the organizers of April’s 2011 New York Auto Show have started to pool together their nominees for the event’s annual World Car of the Year awards.

Running since 2005, the event is presided over by a group of international motoring journalists and includes separate categories for overall best car, best design, best performance car and best green car.

Judging the competition this year will be more than 60 journos, chosen on their respective levels of expertise, experience, credibility, and influence. As for the cars, to be eligible, they have to be available for sale this year in at least five countries on two continents.

The final winners in each respective category will be announced at the 2011 New York Auto Show this April, though the list of nominees will be whittled down to smaller finalist groups in the coming months.

Last year, the Volkswagen Polo took out the World Car of the Year title, while the World Performance Car crown went to the Audi R8 V-10. The additional World Green Car and World Car Design of the Year awards went to the Volkswagen BlueMotion range (Passat, Golf and Polo) and the Chevrolet Camaro, respectively.

Hit the following page to see the nominees for this year's awards.

The nominees for this year’s awards are listed below:

Alfa Romeo Giulietta
Aston Martin Rapide
Audi A1
Audi A7
Audi A8
BMW 5-Series
BMW X3
Citroen C4
Citroen DS3
Honda CR-Z
Hyundai Sonata / i45
Hyundai Tucson / ix35
Infiniti M
Infiniti QX
Jaguar XJ
Jeep Grand Cherokee
KIA Optima
KIA Sportage
Lexus CT200h
Lexus LFA
Mazda5 / Premacy
Mercedes-Benz CLS
Mercedes-Benz R Class
Mercedes-Benz SLS
MINI Countryman
Mitsubishi Outlander Sport / RVR / ASX
Nissan Juke
Nissan LEAF
Nissan March / Micra
Opel / Vauxhall Meriva
Peugeot RCZ
Porsche Cayenne
Renault Dacia Duster
Renault Latitude / Samsun Motors SM5
Saab 9-5
Suzuki Swift
Volkswagen Jetta
Volkswagen Touareg
Volvo S60 / V60