The new BMW iX3 was named World Car of the Year 2026 and World Electric Vehicle 2026, while the Hyundai Ioniq 6 N was named World Performance Car and the Mazda 6e won World Car Design of the Year.
All three new models will launch in Australia this year. The German mid-size electric SUV is scheduled to be launched in the middle of the year, the Korean mid-size electric performance sedan is scheduled to be launched in May, and the Japanese brand’s Chinese-made mid-size electric liftback is expected to arrive in local showrooms in mid-2026.
However, the Lucid Gravity electric SUV (2026 World Luxury Car) and Nio Firefly Electric Hatch (2026 World Urban Car) have yet to be confirmed for release in Australia, with the latter expected to arrive here at some point.
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The iX3’s overall win marks the second consecutive year that BMW has been a finalist in the World Car of the Year category, and the German brand’s second WCOTY title since the 3 Series won the award two decades ago in 2006.
The BMW iX electric SUV was among three WCOTY Awards finalists last year, and the iX3’s 2026 World EV title brings the total number of WCOTY awards won by BMW in the program’s 22-year history to 11.
Announced yesterday (April 1) at the New York Motor Show, the iX3’s overall win at the 2026 WCOTY follows Kia’s victories over the past two years.
“We are delighted with this excellent result for the BMW iX3, the first production model in the Neue Klasse,” said Mike Reichelt, head of BMW’s Neue Klasse electric vehicle platform, which will underpin all of BMW’s next-generation electric vehicles.
“The iX3 marks the beginning of a new era for BMW in terms of design language, range and charging performance, driver assistance systems and user experience with the first BMW Panoramic iDrive. With 40 new or updated models next year, the innovations of the Neue Klasse will benefit our entire product portfolio.”
The BMW iX3 was selected from an initial list of 58 applicants and beat the two finalists Hyundai Palisade and Nissan Leaf.
To qualify for the WCOTY award, vehicles must be produced in volumes of at least 10,000 units per year, priced “below the level of luxury cars in their primary markets” and be available in at least two major markets (China, Europe, India, Japan, Korea, Latin America and the United States) on at least two different continents between January 1, 2025 and March 30, 2026.
The iX3 also took home the title of World Electric Vehicle 2026, making it the first time a BMW model has achieved this. It topped a list of 43 vehicles and two finalists: the Mercedes-Benz CLA and the Nissan Leaf. To qualify for the World EV Award, vehicles must be powered exclusively by one or more electric motors and produced in quantities of at least 5,000 units per year.
The Ioniq 6 N’s designation as the 2026 World Performance Car is the second such award for Hyundai following the Ioniq 5 N’s associated win in 2024, bringing the total number of WCOTY awards won by the South Korean automaker to nine.
It was chosen from an initial list of 20 candidates (all of which must be sold in volumes of at least 1,000 units per year) and ultimately edged out the BMW M2 CS and Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray.
While the U.S.-built Lucid Gravity defeated the Cadillac Vistiq and Volvo ES90 in the World Luxury Car Award, whose eligibility requirements include production of at least 5,000 units per year, the Firefly’s designation as the 2026 World Urban Car marks the first WCOTY Award win for Chinese automaker Nio.
The Firefly defeated four competitors, including the Hyundai Venue and the Chevrolet Spark (also available as the Baojun Yep Plus), both of which were finalists. To qualify for World Urban Car, vehicles must have a maximum overall length of 4.25 meters and be produced in quantities of at least 5,000 units per year.
The sixth and final WCOTY World Car Design of the Year award went to the Mazda 6e (known as the EZ-6 in China), which defeated the Kia PV5 and Volvo ES90 and became the third Mazda model to receive the award and the fifth Mazda model to receive a WCOTY award.
After being judged by a design jury made up of seven respected international design experts, it topped a list of 90 eligible vehicles, while BMW Chairman Oliver Zipse was named World Car Person of the Year.
The 2026 WCOTY Awards were decided by a jury of 98 automotive journalists from 33 countries, including Daily Sparkz Co-founder and presenter Daily Sparkz, who selected the winning cars by secret ballot based on his rating of each eligible vehicle.
BMW’s overall win this year ends a solid streak of Korean brands at the WCOTY Awards this decade, with Kia winning three times – in 2020 with the Telluride and 2024 and 2025 with the EV9 and EV3 respectively – and Hyundai in 2022 (with the Ioniq 5) and 2023 (with the Ioniq 6).
The only non-Korean car to win World Car of the Year this decade was the Volkswagen ID.4 in 2021, although European, Japanese and Chinese brands were well represented in the other annual awards.
2026 WCOTY Winners:
- World Car of the Year – BMW iX3
- World Luxury Car – Lucid Gravity
- World Performance Car – Hyundai Ioniq 6 N
- World electric vehicle – BMW iX3
- World Urban Car – Nio Firefly
- World Car Design of the Year – Mazda 6e/EZ-6
- World Car Person of the Year – Oliver Zipse
