The brand new BMW iX3 has been named the 2026 World Automotive of the Yr, in addition to the 2026 World Electric Vehicle, while the Hyundai Ioniq 6 N is the World Performance Automotive and the Mazda 6e has claimed the World Automotive Design of the Yr award.
All three recent models will go on sale in Australia this 12 months, with the German mid-size electric SUV due for release mid-year, the Korean mid-size electric performance sedan resulting from arrive in May, and the Japanese brand’s Chinese-made mid-size electric liftback expected in local showrooms in mid-2026.
Nevertheless, the Lucid Gravity electric SUV (2026 World Luxury Automotive) and the Nio Firefly electric hatch (2026 World Urban Automotive) are yet to be confirmed for Australian release, although the latter is predicted to reach here in some unspecified time in the future.
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The iX3’s overall win marks the second consecutive 12 months BMW has had a World Automotive of the Yr finalist and the German brand’s second WCOTY title because the 3 Series won the award twenty years ago in 2006.
The BMW iX electric SUV was a top-three finalist in last 12 months’s WCOTY award, and the iX3’s 2026 World EV title brings to 11 the whole variety of WCOTY awards won by BMW in this system’s 22-year history.
Announced on the Recent York motor show yesterday (April 1), the iX3’s overall 2026 WCOTY win follows victories by Kia over the past two years.
“We’re delighted by this outstanding result for the BMW iX3, the primary production model of the Neue Klasse,” said Mike Reichelt, the top of BMW’s Neue Klasse electric vehicle platform, which is able to underpin all next-generation EVs from BMW.
“The iX3 marks the start of a brand new era for BMW by way of design language, range and charging performance, driver assistance systems, and the user experience with the first-ever BMW Panoramic iDrive. With 40 recent or updated models coming in the following 12 months, the innovations of the Neue Klasse will profit our entire product portfolio.”
The BMW iX3 was chosen from an initial list of 58 contenders, and beat out two finalists within the Hyundai Palisade and Nissan Leaf.
To be eligible for the WCOTY award, vehicles have to be produced in volumes of no less than 10,000 units a 12 months, priced “below the luxury-car level of their primary markets”, and available in no less than two major markets (China, Europe, India, Japan, Korea, Latin America and the USA) on no less than two separate continents between January 1, 2025 and March 30, 2026.
The iX3 also claimed the 2026 World Electric Vehicle title, marking the primary time a BMW model has done so. It topped an inventory of 43, and two finalists within the Mercedes-Benz CLA and Nissan Leaf. To be eligible for the World EV award, vehicles have to be powered solely by a number of electric motors, and produced in volumes of no less than 5000 units a 12 months.
The Ioniq 6 N’s anointment as 2026 World Performance Automotive marks the second such award for Hyundai, following the related Ioniq 5 N’s win in 2024, and brings to nine the whole variety of WCOTY awards won by the South Korean automaker.
It was chosen from an initial list of 20 contenders (all of which have to be sold in volumes of no less than 1000 units a 12 months), 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 Automotive award, eligibility requirements for which include volumes of no less than 5000 units per 12 months, the Firefly’s naming as 2026 World Urban Automotive marks the primary WCOTY award victory for Chinese automaker Nio.
The Firefly defeated 4 contenders including the Hyundai Venue and Chevrolet Spark (also sold because the Baojun Yep Plus), each of which were finalists. To be eligible for World Urban Automotive, vehicles have to be a maximum of 4.25 metres in overall length and produced in volumes of no less than 5000 units annually.
The sixth and final WCOTY award, World Automotive Design of the Yr, was won by the Mazda 6e (referred to as the EZ-6 in China), which beat out the Kia PV5 and Volvo ES90, and have become the third Mazda model to win the award, in addition to the fifth Mazda model to say a WCOTY award.
It topped an inventory 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 Automotive Person of the Yr.
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 chosen the winning cars by secret ballot based on their evaluation of every eligible vehicle.
BMW’s overall win this 12 months ends a solid run within the WCOTY awards by Korean brands this decade, with Kia winning thrice – 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 one non-Korean automobile to win World Automotive of the Yr this decade was the Volkswagen ID.4 in 2021, though European, Japanese and Chinese brands have been well-represented in the opposite annual awards.
2026 WCOTY winners:
- World Automotive of the Yr – BMW iX3
- World Luxury Automotive – Lucid Gravity
- World Performance Automotive – Hyundai Ioniq 6 N
- World Electric Vehicle – BMW iX3
- World Urban Automotive – Nio Firefly
- World Automotive Design of the Yr – Mazda 6e/EZ-6
- World Automotive Person of the Yr – Oliver Zipse
This Article First Appeared At www.carexpert.com.au
