Hyundai Ioniq 6 takes the 2023 World Car of the Year award

05 April 2023

Hyundai has done it again. Last year it was the Ioniq 5 that got the World Car of the Year title, and now it is the turn of the new Ioniq 6. And yet both couldn’t be more different - the Ioniq 6 didn’t follow the design of the Ioniq 5, and the cars are so different they don’t look like they were made by the same manufacturer.

During the 2023 New York Auto Show that’s taking place right now, Ioniq 6 was given first the World Design Car and World Electric Vehicle awards, to eventually receive the overall title of the 20023 World Car of the Year. But that wasn’t the end of awards for the Hyundai Group - the Kia EV6 GT was given the title of 2023 World Performance Car.

Hyundai Ioniq 6 went up against BMW iX1/X1 duo, and Kia Niro was shortlisted as well. BMW i7 and Lucid Air were up for the World Electric Vehicle award and Ioniq 6 took it away from them. Lucid Air and Range Rover were shortlisted as well for the World Design award but it was the Ioniq 6 again that walked away with the trophy.

To top it off, the head of design at Hyundai and Genesis, SangYup Lee (who is Hyundai's executive VP as well) was awarded the World Car of the Year 2023 Person of the Year title. That’s a complete sweep.

Lucid Air ended up, in the end, winning the title of the World Luxury Car and Citroen C3 walked away with the title of World Urban Car. Hyundai Ioniq 6 went up against 21 vehicles in total from the biggest automakers.

It’s an amazing performance from Hyundai, a vindication of the bold design language taken up by the designers. Next year will be very interesting, the competition will include the new Kia EV9, Polestar 3, and Audi Q8 e-tron. Let’s not forget about Hyundai though, the company is bringing its third electric car to the market this year - the Ioniq 7. This large SUV will share its platform with Kia EV9 but it will look nothing like it. Nor will it look anything like the Ioniq 5 nor Ioniq 6 - can Hyundai win again next year?

Via