EVs Sweep 2026 World Car Awards

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On Wednesday, April 1, the 22^nd World Car Awards announced the winners for 2026. EVs swept every category. Every year, a panel of journalists from around the world votes on finalists and winners in each category. While the test drives happen in California in the fall, the vehicles come from around the world — although, they need to be offered in more than one market to compete. The award show happens in New York in the spring, prior to the New York Auto Show.

The Mazda EZ-6/6e, which is available as a PHEV and a BEV, won 2026 World Car Design. This design was originally developed for the Chinese market and was not present at the awards show. The vehicle has more recently been introduced in Europe and Australia. While the EZ-6 was not on display at the awards show, I had a chance to see it in Guangzhou, and I thought it was a sporty, appealing design.

Nio Firefly won 2026 World Urban Car. This car was also not at the awards or auto show, but I saw it in Guangzhou last fall. The premium subcompact makes sense for a World Car award, as this type of vehicle is well suited for European roads. Quality materials, RWD, modern tech, and more space on the inside than its exterior dimensions would suggest make it well suited for people who want a premium car but do not want a large car.

The Hyundai IONIQ 6 N won the 2026 World Performance Car. Of note, the regular IONIQ 6 has been discontinued in the US, but the 6 N is still offered for 2026. However, as Hyundai shifts in the US toward more hybrids and body-on-frame SUVs, with heavy localization, its future is a bit uncertain. The IONIQ 6 N win follows the IONIQ 5 N taking the same award last year. Both were present at the auto show, offering a ride along behind the Hyundai booth with Brazilian professional race car driver Gianfranco Casadei. I sat down in the car assuming that the artificial noises would be a bit tacky. However, they are subtle and seem to provide useful feedback for what the motors are doing. When driving an electric car, sometimes it can feel a bit isolated, and you end up taking a corner a little faster than you probably should. The feedback helps with that. Although, it can be turned off, along with the fake shift points. Overall, the IONIQ 6 N embraces the software defined vehicle concept to be heavily customizable to driver preferences or track conditions. I also like that I can sit upright in the back of the aluminum roof model without my head hitting. It could be both a useable family car and a track toy. Having ridden in it, I understand why it won.

The Lucid Gravity won the 2026 World Luxury Car award. The Saudi-made vehicle designed in California was also on the EV test track and show floor. On the test drive, it felt well put together and quiet with a smooth ride. While it reminds me more of a tall station wagon than a traditional crossover or SUV, it was surprisingly spacious inside with high quality materials.

The BMW iX3 Neue Klasse won both 2026 World Electric Vehicle and overall 2026 World Car awards. In addition, BMW’s Chairman, Oliver Zipse, who could not attend, was named the 2026 World Car Person of the Year. The model was at the award show, and I was hoping to get a better shot of it, but it did not appear again on the auto show floor. BMW did not have an official corporate presence at the show — although, a BMW dealer had a few models on display. Currently, this model is not available in the US, but it is anticipated soon. Overall, BMW took a very global approach to the development of the Neue Klasse. Different parts of the world came together to make a car that still feels very BMW. While in Guangzhou, they highlighted much of the technology within the car, as seen in the second half of the video.

World Car Insights

In addition to the awards, the organization released research on what consumers are looking for most from a car in 2026:

1. Affordability
2. Efficiency
3. Quality
4. Safety

Overall, these make sense in the current environment. All relate back to affordability. Efficiency makes vehicles more affordable to operate. Quality makes vehicles more affordable to maintain. Meanwhile, active safety can prevent costly accidents, while greater affordability can allow more people to drive safer new cars.

These motivations get back to the need for access to affordable, efficient, high quality global EVs that also get top marks on safety tests.

Feeling Isolated From Progress

The strength of EVs in the awards felt very promising. EVs are increasingly the best vehicles available in the world, regardless of class.

However, you couldn’t help feeling a bit isolated from the progress. The Firefly and Mazda EZ-6 are not offered here. We are getting the iX3 after much of the world, and it may not get the emphasis it gets in the global markets that collaborated to create it. The top car design and urban vehicle are not offered here. Hyundai discussed a strategy shift toward hybrids in the US, with increasing localization, while the future of the winning IONIQ 6 N looks somewhat uncertain.

On a panel a day earlier, Republican Senator Bernie Moreno said that he would introduce legislation to block Chinese cars from being built in the US, in addition to blocking imports. At a panel later in the day, the dealer group NADA and industry lobbying group AAI both pushed for blocking Chinese cars and highlighted a return to ICE vehicles. I’ll get into the show more, but the somewhat limited overall offerings were not as encouraging as past shows.

The feeling of isolation is growing. But the world is moving forward.