The prestigious competition has reached the finish line. The winner of the main award and the winners of related categories will be announced in April.
The organizers of World Car Of The Year (WCOTY; «World Car of the Year») announced the top ten finalists in the main competition in early February, and shortlists for the remaining categories were published at the same time. And now the participants who made their way into the TOP-3 have become known. Recall, according to the rules, for the main award — the title of the best car in the world — models compete for a production volume of at least 10,000 units per year, cars must be sold on at least two continents and at least two major markets (China, Europe, India, Japan, Korea, Latin America or USA). The best ones are chosen by the jury, which included more than a hundred journalists from 30 countries (Russia is also on the list).
So, the main award will be taken by the «Korean» or «German» — the TOP-3 models are Hyundai, Kia and BMW. By the way, this season as a whole turned out to be fruitful for the Korean and Bavarian concerns, their models claim prizes in other categories as well.
World Car 2023, TOP-3:
BMW X1/iX1
Hyundai Ioniq 6
Kia Niro
Models that made it to the TOP 10, but still completely dropped out of the fight: Alfa Romeo Tonale, BMW 2 Series Coupe, Honda HR-V/ZR-V, Mazda CX-60, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Nissan Ariya and Nissan Z.
1/3 2/3 3/3
Those related categories are City Car of the Year, Sports Car of the Year, Premium Car of the Year, Electric Car of the Year, and Best Design. Note that the conditions for participation here are different.
City Car of the Year:
Citroen C3
Ora Funky Cat/Haomao
Volkswagen Taigo/Nivus
In this category, there were originally three finalists, so no one was left behind. Here it is worth explaining that the declared Citroen compact with the model of the same name for Europe has little in common: a state employee created for India and Latin America is fighting for the title of the best. Another interesting thing is that a “Chinese” can become a “global” city car: the Ora brand belongs to the Great Wall concern, its Funky Cat/Haomao hatch is an electric car that is sold, including in Europe.
1/3 2/3 3/3
Top 3 premium car of the year:
BMW 7 Series/i7
Genesis G90
Lucid Air
For Lucid, which has Chinese roots, this season of World Car Of The Year is no less fruitful than for BMW or Hyundai-Kia: the large Air electric sedan managed to make it to the finals in two more related categories. Well, as for the «premium», then Land Rover models no longer shine to become the best — Range Rover and Range Rover Sport have left the race.
1/3 2/3 3/3
Sports car of the year, TOP-3:
Kia EV6 GT
Nissan Z
Toyota GR Corolla
BMW M4 CSL and Porsche 911 (992) GT3 RS were eliminated from the competition.
1/3 2/3 3/3
Electric car of the year , TOP-3:
BMW i7
Hyundai Ioniq 6
Lucid Air
Genesis GV60 and Kia Niro were in flight EV.
Best Design, TOP 3:
Hyundai Ioniq 6
Land Rover Range Rover
Lucid Air
The World Car Of The Year winners will be announced at the New York Auto Show starting in April. Last year, the green Hyundai Ioniq 5 cross-hatch took the main award, which also won the electric car of the year and received the design award. The Mercedes-Benz EQS was recognized as the premium car of 2022, the Audi e-tron GT was recognized as the sports car of the year, and the jury chose the Toyota Yaris Cross SUV as the city car of 2022.