EVs sweep global awards

Electric vehicles took every vehicle category at the 2026 World Car Awards, with winners announced April 1 at the New York International Auto Show. (worldcarawards.com) The BMW iX3 won both World Car of the Year and World Electric Vehicle, while the Lucid Gravity won World Luxury Car and the Hyundai Ioniq 6 N won World Performance Car. Firefly took World Urban Car, and the Mazda 6e, also sold as the EZ-6, won World Car Design of the Year. (worldcarawards.com) The awards were decided by 98 automotive journalists from 33 countries after testing eligible vehicles sold in at least two major markets on two continents between January 1, 2025 and March 30, 2026. The World Car of the Year field started with 58 contenders, and finalists were cut to three on March 3. (worldcarawards.com) The clean sweep came three months after the Mercedes-Benz CLA won the 2026 European Car of the Year award at the Brussels Motor Show on January 9. That award was voted on by 60 jurors from 23 European countries. (caroftheyear.org) The broader awards picture is less uniform in North America. At the Detroit Auto Show on January 14, the North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year awards went to the Dodge Charger, Ford Maverick Lobo and Hyundai Palisade. (northamericancaroftheyear.org) The World Car Awards categories favor global models that are already on sale across major markets, which gives battery-powered launches from BMW, Lucid, Hyundai, Firefly and Mazda a larger stage than region-specific pickups or sport utility vehicles. The rules exclude low-volume vehicles and require at least 10,000 units a year for World Car of the Year eligibility. (worldcarawards.com) BMW’s double win gave the company its second World Car of the Year title after the 3 Series won in 2006, according to the award organizer’s press release. The iX3 is also the first production model in BMW’s Neue Klasse family, which the company says will spread its new battery, charging and software systems across future models. (worldcarawards.com) The result does not mean electric vehicles now dominate every major award or every market. It does show that, in one of the auto industry’s most international juried programs, the 2026 shortlist turned into an all-electric winners’ circle. (worldcarawards.com)