Now in its 19th year, the World Car of the Year Awards are the most important and prestigious of any automotive awards in the world.

The awards are judged by an international jury of 100 automotive journalists from 32 countries – the people upon whom the world relies for an unbiased appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of the 67 million automobiles we purchase each year.

Last night, 5 April 2023, the World Car Finals Powered by Brembo were held at a black-tie dinner on the eve of the New York International Auto Show, with Hyundai’s Ioniq 6 taking wins in three of the six car categories, and its sister company Kia taking one of the other three categories.

On top of the dominant model performance by the Korean automotive industry, the 2023 World Car Person of the Year Award was bestowed upon SangYup Lee, the Head of Hyundai Global Design Centre, giving Hyundai four of the seven awards for the evening, and a share of the fifth award because Hyundai owns 33 percent of Kia.

2023 World Car of the Year: Hyundai Ioniq 6

The Ioniq 6 is the second model from Hyundai’s dedicated all-electric sub-brand, and in taking out the 2023 World Car of the Year, 2023 World Electric Vehicle of the Year and 2023 World Car Design of the Year, it emulated the first model in that range. In 2022, the Ioniq 5 won all those same categories, indicating that the Korean automotive giant is impressing the hell out of the journalists upon whom we depend for sound automotive buying advice.

The World Car of the Year (WCOTY) started out with an initial list of 30 contenders, before being narrowed down to 10 finalists: Alfa Romeo Tonale, BMW 2 Series Coupé, BMW X1 / iX1, Honda HR-V (NA) / ZR-V, Hyundai Ioniq 6, Kia Niro, Mazda CX-60, Mercedes-Benz C, Nissan Ariya and Nissan Z. The judges’ scores for the three podium placegetters in the award are above.

2023 World Car Design of the Year: Hyundai Ioniq 6

The aerodynamic Ioniq 6 has a drag coefficient of just 0.21, parlaying its 77.4-kWh battery capacity into a range of nearly 600 km (379 miles) on a single charge. In addition to being one of the most aerodynamic and energy efficient electric vehicles available, the Ioniq 6 uses a bespoke Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) architecture to offer 800-V, ultra-fast charging capabilities and a spacious interior.

2023 World Electric Car of the Year: Hyundai Ioniq 6

The Ioniq 6’s many features include Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) technology, driver assistance systems and advanced connectivity with over-the-air (OTA) software updates that offer the ultimate in-car experience. The spacious and ergonomic interior takes full advantage of the elongated 2,950-mm wheelbase to provide an array of empowering features, such as Dual Color Ambient Lighting, Speed Sync Lighting, EV Performance Tune-up and Electric Active Sound Design (e-ASD), to enhance the electric mobility experience.

2023 World Urban Car of the Year: Citroen C3

There were only three entries in the 2023 World Urban Car class, with the three (Citroen C3, ORA Funky Cat/Haomao and Volkswagen Taigo/Nivus) all becoming finalists.

2023 World Performance Car of the Year: Kia EV6 GT

The 430-kW (577-bhp) Kia EV6 GT builds on the standard EV6 model that had already won the 2022 European Car of the Year and the 2023 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year titles. That prodigious power output enables a 3.5-second 0-62mph acceleration time and a top speed of 162 mph (260.7 km/h), the all-electric EV6 GT triumphed over some strong competition from traditional petrol-powered sports cars, being chosen from an initial entry list of eight vehicles that was subsequently culled to a short list of five finalists announced on 7 March 2023: BMW i7, Genesis GV60, Hyundai Ioniq 6, Kia Niro EV and Lucid Air.

2023 World Luxury Car of the Year: Lucid Air

The 2023 World Luxury Car class had five finalists: BMW 7 Series / i7, Genesis G90, Land Rover Range Rover, Land Rover Range Rover Sport and the Lucid Air, with the BMW, Genesis and Lucid filling the podium.

The history of the WCOTY Awards

The methodologies employed in reaching the three finalists in each category has ensured that the winner is dissected by no less than 100 respected journalists who have driven all the contenders and then dissected the performance of the cars in various categories. The listing shows that only the very best cars reach the podium.