The long journey to this year’s World Car of the Year began with the announcement of the top ten finalists of the competition, plus the top four finalists in five additional World Car Awards. Winners will be announced on April 5 during the 2023 New York International Auto Show.
The WCOTY jury includes 100 international automotive journalists from 32 countries around the world. 10 finalists were selected from a preliminary list of 30 competitors. Without further ado, here are this year’s finalists in the main categories:
World Car of the Year Finalists:
Alfa Romeo Nada
BMW 2 Series Coupes
BMW X1/iX1
Honda HR-V (NA) / ZR-V (JP, CH, ASEAN)
Hyundai Ionic 6
Kia Niro
Mazda CX-60
Mercedes-Benz C
Nissan Arya
Nissan Z
Below are the top five finalists in each of the competition’s four additional categories. It is important to note that there are only three entries in the World Urban Car segment, meaning all three candidates are automatic finalists. Strange as it may seem, the Citroen C3 is one of the three finalists in this class, although this one is not a European model, but one that was produced in India.
World Electric Vehicle Finalists:
BMW i7
Genesis GV60
Hyundai Ionic 6
KIA NiroEV
clear air
World Luxury Car Finalists:
BMW 7/i7 Series
G90 incident
Land Rover Range Rover
Land Rover Range Rover Sport
clear air
World Performance Car Finalists:
BMW M4 CSSL
KIA EV6 GT
Nissan Z
Porsche 911 (992) GT3 RS
Toyota GR Corolla
World Urban Car Finalists:
Citroen C3
ORA Funky Cat / Haomao
Volkswagen Taigo/Nivus
In addition, there are design awards. The design panel consists of six renowned design experts, such as Ian Callum and Shiro Nakamura. The jury selected the following vehicles as finalists in this class: Cadillac Lyriq, Hyundai Ioniq 6, Land Rover Range Rover, Lucid Air, and Nissan Z.
At a later stage, the top three models will be announced on March 7, followed by the announcement of winners in all categories on April 5.
