Hyundai IONIQ 6 named World Car of the Year

The new 2023 Hyundai IONIQ 6 has scored a hat-trick of wins in the prestigious 2023 World Car of the Year awards, announced at the 2023 New York motor show overnight.

Repeating the Korean brand’s remarkable 2022 WCOTY performance, the all-electric sedan was not only crowned World Car of the Year, but also Electric Car of the Year and Car Design of the Year – matching the Hyundai IONIQ 5 electric SUV’s achievement last year.

If that wasn't enough for Hyundai, 100 journalists from 32 different countries also named the global design boss of both Hyundai and Genesis, Sangyup Lee, as the 2023 World Person of the Year.

Last year Hyundai's chief creative officer, Luc Donckerwolke, was also judged person of the year.

The only 2023 WCOTY awards that Hyundai didn’t win went to the Kia EV6 GT (World Performance Car) from Hyundai’s sister brand, the battery-powered Lucid Air (World Luxury Car) and the Citroen C3 (World Urban Car).

Other new models shortlisted for the 2023 WCOTY awards included the Kia Niro, BMW X1/iX1, BMW 2 Series Coupe, Honda HR-V, Mazda CX-60, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Nissan Ariya and the Nissan Z coupe.

Cars eligible for the award in 2023 must have been produced in volumes of at least 10,000 and on sale in at least two major markets across two continents.

It was the fourth time in five years that the most prestigious WCOTY gong went to an EV, with previous battery-powered winners including the IONIQ 5 (2022), Volkswagen ID.4 (2021), Jaguar I-PACE (2019) and the original Nissan LEAF back in 2011.

2023 World Car of the Year winners:

Hyundai IONIQ 6 – World Car of the Year
Lucid Air – World Luxury Car
Kia EV6 GT – World Performance Car
Hyundai IONIQ 6 – World Electric Car
Citroen C3 – World Urban Car
Hyundai IONIQ 6 – World Car Design of the Year

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