The World Car of the Year (WCOTY) organization has announced the initial slate of candidates for 2009 World Green Car of the Year.

Launched three years ago, the World Green COTY title has been awarded in the past to the BMW 118d (2008), the Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec (2007) and the Honda Civic Hybrid (2006).

The 2009 candidates must be new and on sale by December 31.

The finalists are:
Audi Q7 3.0 TDI
BMW 335d BluePerformance
Chevrolet Tahoe / GMC Yukon Hybrid
Citroën C1
Fiat Palio Weekend Electric
Fiat Siena Tetrafuel model
Honda FCX Clarity
Mazda Hydrogen Rotary RX8
Mercedes-Benz ML/R/GL 320 BlueTEC
MINI Cooper D
MINI E
Mitsubishi iMiEV
Nissan X-Trail 20 GT
smart ed
Subaru Legacy/Outback PZEV
Tesla Electric Roadster
Toyota iQ
Volvo C30 1.6D DRIVe
Volvo S40 1.6D DRIVe
Volvo S80 2.5 FT (Flexifuel)
Volvo V50 1.6D DRIVe
Volvo V70 2.5 FT (Flexifuel)

The WCOTY organization includes working automotive journalists from around the globe, including regular IL contributors Matt Davis, Hormazd Sorabjee, Peter Nunn and Peter Lyon.