© 2024 New Atlas
Automotive

World Car of the Year Awards name best cars in six categories

By Mike Hanlon
April 06, 2023
World Car of the Year Awards name best cars in six categories
100 of the most respected automotive journalists from 34 different countries voted anonymously on all aspects and chose the World Car of the Year, Electric Vehicle of the Year, Luxury Car of the Year, Performance Car of the Year, Urban Car of the Year and the World Car Design of the Year.
100 of the most respected automotive journalists from 34 different countries voted anonymously on all aspects and chose the World Car of the Year, Electric Vehicle of the Year, Luxury Car of the Year, Performance Car of the Year, Urban Car of the Year and the World Car Design of the Year.
View 9 Images
100 of the most respected automotive journalists from 34 different countries voted anonymously on all aspects and chose the World Car of the Year, Electric Vehicle of the Year, Luxury Car of the Year, Performance Car of the Year, Urban Car of the Year and the World Car Design of the Year.
1/9
100 of the most respected automotive journalists from 34 different countries voted anonymously on all aspects and chose the World Car of the Year, Electric Vehicle of the Year, Luxury Car of the Year, Performance Car of the Year, Urban Car of the Year and the World Car Design of the Year.
The winner of the World Urban Car of the Year for 2023 was the Citroen C3
2/9
The winner of the World Urban Car of the Year for 2023 was the Citroen C3
The winner of the World Car Design of the Year was the Hyundai Ioniq 6
3/9
The winner of the World Car Design of the Year was the Hyundai Ioniq 6
The winner of the World Electric Car of the Year was the Hyundai Ioniq 6
4/9
The winner of the World Electric Car of the Year was the Hyundai Ioniq 6
The winner of the World Performance Car of the Year for 2023 was the Kia EV6 GT
5/9
The winner of the World Performance Car of the Year for 2023 was the Kia EV6 GT
The winner of the 2023 World Luxury Car of the Year went to the Lucid Air
6/9
The winner of the 2023 World Luxury Car of the Year went to the Lucid Air
In winning the World Car of the Year, the World Electric Car of the Year, the World Car Design of the Year and the World Car Person of the Year, Hyundai took out four of the seven World Car awards for 2023. Its wins in the first three of those categories was a repeat of the Hyundai Ioniq 5's victories in those same categories in 2022.
7/9
In winning the World Car of the Year, the World Electric Car of the Year, the World Car Design of the Year and the World Car Person of the Year, Hyundai took out four of the seven World Car awards for 2023. Its wins in the first three of those categories was a repeat of the Hyundai Ioniq 5's victories in those same categories in 2022.
The history of the World Car of the Year Awards makes for fascinating reading. If your car is on this list, it is one very sweet ride.
8/9
The history of the World Car of the Year Awards makes for fascinating reading. If your car is on this list, it is one very sweet ride.
In the final reckoning, the Hyundai Ioniq 6 won the 2023 World Car of the Year Award by a fair margin.
9/9
In the final reckoning, the Hyundai Ioniq 6 won the 2023 World Car of the Year Award by a fair margin.
View gallery - 9 images

Now in its 19th year, the World Car of the Year Awards are the most important and prestigious of any automotive awards in the world.

The awards are judged by an international jury of 100 automotive journalists from 32 countries – the people upon whom the world relies for an unbiased appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of the 67 million automobiles we purchase each year.

Last night, 5 April 2023, the World Car Finals Powered by Brembo were held at a black-tie dinner on the eve of the New York International Auto Show, with Hyundai's Ioniq 6 taking wins in three of the six car categories, and its sister company Kia taking one of the other three categories.

In winning the World Car of the Year, the World Electric Car of the Year, the World Car Design of the Year and the World Car Person of the Year, Hyundai took out four of the seven World Car awards for 2023. Its wins in the first three of those categories was a repeat of the Hyundai Ioniq 5's victories in those same categories in 2022.
In winning the World Car of the Year, the World Electric Car of the Year, the World Car Design of the Year and the World Car Person of the Year, Hyundai took out four of the seven World Car awards for 2023. Its wins in the first three of those categories was a repeat of the Hyundai Ioniq 5's victories in those same categories in 2022.

On top of the dominant model performance by the Korean automotive industry, the 2023 World Car Person of the Year Award was bestowed upon SangYup Lee, the Head of Hyundai Global Design Centre, giving Hyundai four of the seven awards for the evening, and a share of the fifth award because Hyundai owns 33 percent of Kia.

2023 World Car of the Year: Hyundai Ioniq 6

In the final reckoning, the Hyundai Ioniq 6 won the 2023 World Car of the Year Award by a fair margin.
In the final reckoning, the Hyundai Ioniq 6 won the 2023 World Car of the Year Award by a fair margin.

The Ioniq 6 is the second model from Hyundai’s dedicated all-electric sub-brand, and in taking out the 2023 World Car of the Year, 2023 World Electric Vehicle of the Year and 2023 World Car Design of the Year, it emulated the first model in that range. In 2022, the Ioniq 5 won all those same categories, indicating that the Korean automotive giant is impressing the hell out of the journalists upon whom we depend for sound automotive buying advice.

The World Car of the Year (WCOTY) started out with an initial list of 30 contenders, before being narrowed down to 10 finalists: Alfa Romeo Tonale, BMW 2 Series Coupé, BMW X1 / iX1, Honda HR-V (NA) / ZR-V, Hyundai Ioniq 6, Kia Niro, Mazda CX-60, Mercedes-Benz C, Nissan Ariya and Nissan Z. The judges' scores for the three podium placegetters in the award are above.

2023 World Car Design of the Year: Hyundai Ioniq 6

The winner of the World Car Design of the Year was the Hyundai Ioniq 6
The winner of the World Car Design of the Year was the Hyundai Ioniq 6

The aerodynamic Ioniq 6 has a drag coefficient of just 0.21, parlaying its 77.4-kWh battery capacity into a range of nearly 600 km (379 miles) on a single charge. In addition to being one of the most aerodynamic and energy efficient electric vehicles available, the Ioniq 6 uses a bespoke Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) architecture to offer 800-V, ultra-fast charging capabilities and a spacious interior.

2023 World Electric Car of the Year: Hyundai Ioniq 6

The winner of the World Electric Car of the Year was the Hyundai Ioniq 6
The winner of the World Electric Car of the Year was the Hyundai Ioniq 6

The Ioniq 6’s many features include Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) technology, driver assistance systems and advanced connectivity with over-the-air (OTA) software updates that offer the ultimate in-car experience. The spacious and ergonomic interior takes full advantage of the elongated 2,950-mm wheelbase to provide an array of empowering features, such as Dual Color Ambient Lighting, Speed Sync Lighting, EV Performance Tune-up and Electric Active Sound Design (e-ASD), to enhance the electric mobility experience.

2023 World Urban Car of the Year: Citroen C3

The winner of the World Urban Car of the Year for 2023 was the Citroen C3
The winner of the World Urban Car of the Year for 2023 was the Citroen C3

There were only three entries in the 2023 World Urban Car class, with the three (Citroen C3, ORA Funky Cat/Haomao and Volkswagen Taigo/Nivus) all becoming finalists.

2023 World Performance Car of the Year: Kia EV6 GT

The winner of the World Performance Car of the Year for 2023 was the Kia EV6 GT
The winner of the World Performance Car of the Year for 2023 was the Kia EV6 GT

The 430-kW (577-bhp) Kia EV6 GT builds on the standard EV6 model that had already won the 2022 European Car of the Year and the 2023 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year titles. That prodigious power output enables a 3.5-second 0-62mph acceleration time and a top speed of 162 mph (260.7 km/h), the all-electric EV6 GT triumphed over some strong competition from traditional petrol-powered sports cars, being chosen from an initial entry list of eight vehicles that was subsequently culled to a short list of five finalists announced on 7 March 2023: BMW i7, Genesis GV60, Hyundai Ioniq 6, Kia Niro EV and Lucid Air.

2023 World Luxury Car of the Year: Lucid Air

The winner of the 2023 World Luxury Car of the Year went to the Lucid Air
The winner of the 2023 World Luxury Car of the Year went to the Lucid Air

The 2023 World Luxury Car class had five finalists: BMW 7 Series / i7, Genesis G90, Land Rover Range Rover, Land Rover Range Rover Sport and the Lucid Air, with the BMW, Genesis and Lucid filling the podium.

The history of the WCOTY Awards

The history of the World Car of the Year Awards makes for fascinating reading. If your car is on this list, it is one very sweet ride.
The history of the World Car of the Year Awards makes for fascinating reading. If your car is on this list, it is one very sweet ride.

The methodologies employed in reaching the three finalists in each category has ensured that the winner is dissected by no less than 100 respected journalists who have driven all the contenders and then dissected the performance of the cars in various categories. The listing shows that only the very best cars reach the podium.

View gallery - 9 images

Tags

AutomotiveWCOTYLucid Motorshyundai genesisHyundaiKiaBMWRange RoverVolkswagenCitroenNissan
7 comments
Mike Hanlon
Mike Hanlon
As a photojournalist, Mike’s work has been published in a dozen languages across 20+ countries. He has edited or managed over 75 different print publications, each with a different target audience: sports, automotive, advertising, marketing, design, ad infinitum. Mike has been working in the internet for more than 25 years and was the veteran of five internet start-ups before founding New Atlas in 2002.

Most Viewed

Load More
7 comments
Chase
Personally, this entire award series lost credibility when the ugliest car I've seen in years won Car of the Year, Design of the Year, and EV of the Year. Everything behind the B-pillars looks terrible, and the front half is decidedly "meh."
Karmudjun
The Lucid Air is the only car in the group that I'd be willing to be seen in. All the rest of them look like crap and given their builders, have crap for endurance and longevity. So why do they score so high? It is because the free press is impressed with freebies. Not for me. Quality first, looks second, economy above all, and safety is a must. I just wonder about these choices. I disagree with the "car of the year".
P51d007
Those are some of the MOST UGLY vehicles I've seen.
Chris D
How pointless.
This set of awards is promoting ev. The reality of battery life and increased toxic heavy metal pollution appears swept under the rug for generation to deal with 15 and 20 years in the future. EVs use computers that will suffer degradation and the obvious outdating of tech.

As to the Ioniq 6 aesthetics. They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Well the judges obviously lacked eyes because the Ioniq 6 looks disfunctional. I must say they made the ugly flow from one end to the other so they must have studied very hard to achieve this eyesore. The Citroen is passable and it is a compact 5 door hatch. The EV6 appears aggressive but the Ioniq6 is a turd that cannot escape the cesspool of ugly.

We know that EVs have better acceleration but if they weigh a lot then the cost is found in the battery and charge times, I can go to a fuel station and be filled and tires checked in under 5 min with a range of 500 miles. If I have a long run, fuel stations are plentiful.

Charging for hours adds a great amount of travel time. Also my ICE car's range is not affected unduly by colder weather. Where is the EV on that score?
EVs may as well be Mini Mokes because in foul weather they will be a bad choice. As was the recipient of these awards.
ljaques
The name TESLA is nowhere in the article. Since the X and S remain the safest, most efficient luxury car models, I discount this award series as well.
Hyundai, remember, quite a few people are waiting for the Elevate car to be made.
Claudio
guys, it's "world" in the very sense of it, not "world" as the USA...
Drjohnf
This is a very thinly veiled promotional exercise for EV's brought to you (and funded) by the WEF.

Nice to see these EV's getting designed and made - but it would be nice to see a legitimate contest. Quite frankly - people are getting sick and tired of being lied to and manipulated by various large scale organizations. The French revolution solved this trend in an innovative way. ;-)

Much better to check out Car & Driver for unbiased comparisons (well - at least "less biased" comparisons).

No argument about the looks of these vehicles - obviously very little expense allocated to aesthetics for these vehicles.