KATHMANDU: The 2026 World Car of the Year (WCOTY) awards have been announced alongside the opening of the New York International Auto Show on April 1.
This year, entries from China, Europe, India, Korea, Latin America, and the United States competed. Eligible models included vehicles launched between January 1, 2025 and March 30, 2026.
The all-new BMW iX3 won the World Car of the Year title, beating the Nissan Leaf and Hyundai Palisade. The iX3 also secured the World Electric Vehicle of the Year award.
In the urban category, the Nio Firefly won the World Urban Car award. It competed against the Hyundai Venue, Baojun Yep, and Chevrolet Spark.
The Lucid Gravity was named World Luxury Car of the Year, ahead of the Cadillac Vistiq and Volvo ES90.
For performance, the Hyundai Ioniq 6 N won the World Performance Car award. It competed with the BMW M2 and Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray.
The World Car Person of the Year award was presented to Oliver Zipse. Other nominees include David Craig and Tisha Johnson.
A total of 98 automotive journalists from around the world participated as jury members for the 2026 awards.
