The new BMW iX3 has been named the 2026 World Car of the Year, as well as the 2026 World Electric Vehicle, while the Hyundai Ioniq 6 N is the World Performance Car and the Mazda 6e has claimed the World Car Design of the Year award.
All three new models will go on sale in Australia this year, with the German mid-size electric SUV due for release mid-year, the Korean mid-size electric performance sedan due to arrive in May, and the Japanese brand’s Chinese-made mid-size electric liftback expected in local showrooms in mid-2026.
However, the Lucid Gravity electric SUV (2026 World Luxury Car) and the Nio Firefly electric hatch (2026 World Urban Car) are yet to be confirmed for Australian release, although the latter is expected to arrive here at some point.
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The iX3’s overall win marks the second consecutive year BMW has had a World Car of the Year finalist 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 a top-three finalist in last year’s WCOTY award, and the iX3’s 2026 World EV title brings to 11 the total number of WCOTY awards won by BMW in the program’s 22-year history.
Announced at the New York motor show yesterday (April 1), the iX3’s overall 2026 WCOTY win follows victories by Kia over the past two years.
“We are delighted by this outstanding result for the BMW iX3, the first production model of the Neue Klasse,” said Mike Reichelt, the head of BMW’s Neue Klasse electric vehicle platform, which will underpin all next-generation EVs from BMW.
“The iX3 marks the beginning of a new era for BMW in terms of design language, range and charging performance, driver assistance systems, and the user experience with the first-ever BMW Panoramic iDrive. With 40 new or updated models coming in the next year, the innovations of the Neue Klasse will benefit our entire product portfolio.”
The BMW iX3 was chosen from an initial list of 58 contenders, and beat out two finalists in the Hyundai Palisade and Nissan Leaf.
To be eligible for the WCOTY award, vehicles must be produced in volumes of at least 10,000 units a year, priced “below the luxury-car level in their primary markets”, and available in at least two major markets (China, Europe, India, Japan, Korea, Latin America and the USA) on at least two separate continents between January 1, 2025 and March 30, 2026.
The iX3 also claimed the 2026 World Electric Vehicle title, marking the first time a BMW model has done so. It topped a list of 43, and two finalists in the Mercedes-Benz CLA and Nissan Leaf. To be eligible for the World EV award, vehicles must be powered solely by one or more electric motors, and produced in volumes of at least 5000 units a year.
The Ioniq 6 N’s anointment as 2026 World Performance Car marks the second such award for Hyundai, following the related Ioniq 5 N’s win in 2024, and brings to nine the total number of WCOTY awards won by the South Korean automaker.
It was chosen from an initial list of 20 contenders (all of which must be sold in volumes of at least 1000 units a year), and eventually edged out the BMW M2 CS and Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray.
While the US-built Lucid Gravity beat the Cadillac Vistiq and Volvo ES90 to the World Luxury Car award, eligibility requirements for which include volumes of at least 5000 units per year, the Firefly’s naming as 2026 World Urban Car marks the first WCOTY award victory for Chinese automaker Nio.
The Firefly defeated four contenders including the Hyundai Venue and Chevrolet Spark (also sold as the Baojun Yep Plus), both of which were finalists. To be eligible for World Urban Car, vehicles must be a maximum of 4.25 metres in overall length and produced in volumes of at least 5000 units annually.
The sixth and final WCOTY award, World Car Design of the Year, was won by the Mazda 6e (known as the EZ-6 in China), which beat out the Kia PV5 and Volvo ES90, and became the third Mazda model to win the award, as well as the fifth Mazda model to claim a WCOTY award.
It topped a list of 90 eligible vehicles after being judged by a design panel consisting of seven respected world design experts, while BMW chairman Oliver Zipse was named World Car Person of the Year.
The 2026 WCOTY awards were adjudicated by a jury of 98 automotive journalists from 33 countries, including CarExpert co-founder and presenter Paul Maric, who selected the winning cars by secret ballot based on their evaluation of each eligible vehicle.
BMW’s overall win this year ends a solid run in the WCOTY awards by Korean brands this decade, with Kia winning three times – in 2020 with the Telluride and in 2024 and 2025 with the EV9 and EV3, respectively – and Hyundai winning 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, though European, Japanese and Chinese brands have been 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