Green Car of the Year nominees revealed

The Chevrolet Volt, with its electric motor powered by a 16kWh lithium-ion battery producing 149bhp and 368Nm of torque, is one of the favourites for the award. The Volt is able to travel around 40 to 80km on electric power alone, with a 1.4-litre petrol engine also on hand to add an extra 499km to its range.

Its main competitor is the Nissan Leaf, which is a pure electric car with an electric motor that produces 107bhp and 280Nm of torque. This enables the Leaf to travel up to 160km on a single charge, and can be charged up again in eight hours.

The other nominees are the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, which has a 2.4-litre petrol engine with 169bhp mated to an electric motor with 40bhp, and the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, which has a 2.5-litre engine and an electric motor which combines to produces a total of 188bhp.

The final nominee is the Ford Fiesta, which is the sole non-hybrid or electric vehicle in the list. The model nominated is the 1.6-litre version, whose four-cylinder engine produces 120bhp and 152Nm of torque.

The winner of the Green Car of the Year 2011 will be announced at the Los Angeles Motor Show, and the judges include Carl Pope, chairman of the Sierra Club; Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council; Jean-Michel Cousteau, president of Ocean Futures Society and Matt Petersen, president of Global Green USA, as well as Jay Leno and Carroll Shelby.