The Hyundai Ioniq 6 has been awarded the ‘2023 World Car of the Year’ at the ‘2023 World Car Awards’. This makes Hyundai Motor Group the first to achieve back-to-back wins, following the Ioniq 5 last year.
On the 5th of this month (local time), Hyundai Motor Group announced that at the ‘2023 World Car Awards’ – hosted by the World Car Awards organization – the Ioniq 6 won the ‘2023 World Car of the Year,’ as well as ‘2023 World Electric Vehicle,’ and ‘2023 World Car Design,’ achieving a triple crown.
Additionally, the Kia EV6 GT made its name in the ‘World Performance Car’ category, allowing Hyundai Motor Group to sweep four out of six total categories at the World Car Awards.
Hyundai Motor Group has now won the prestigious ‘World Car of the Year’ three times over four years, starting with the Kia Telluride in 2020, followed by the Ioniq 5 in 2022, and now the Ioniq 6 in 2023.
The back-to-back wins for the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 underscore the excellence of dedicated electric vehicles built on Hyundai Motor Group’s Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP).
Models based on E-GMP, including the Kia EV6 and Genesis GV60, have been sweeping prestigious global automotive awards since 2021, including World Car of the Year, European Car of the Year, and the Red Dot Award.
The World Car Awards is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, and was established in 2004. It features a jury of 100 prominent automotive journalists from 32 countries worldwide including South Korea, the USA, Europe, China, Japan, and India, enhancing the objectivity and credibility of the awards through a secret voting process.
The World Car of the Year is considered one of the top three automotive awards in the world, alongside the ‘North American Car of the Year’ and ‘European Car of the Year’. Unlike the latter two, which are evaluated based on specific regional markets, the World Car of the Year is assessed globally.
Following the Kia EV6 being named ‘2023 North American Car of the Year’ in January, the Ioniq 6’s win for the World Car of the Year signifies Hyundai Motor Group’s dominance in two out of the three major global automotive awards.
There are six award categories for the World Car of the Year, including ▲ World Car of the Year ▲ World Electric Vehicle ▲ World Car Design ▲ World Performance Car ▲ World Luxury Car ▲ World Urban Car. The World Car Awards jury tests the candidate vehicles and then votes to select the best car in each category. The Ioniq 6 receiving the ‘World Car of the Year’ is the top honor.
A total of 30 vehicles were nominated for the prestigious World Car of the Year, among which the Hyundai Ioniq 6, Kia Niro, and ‘BMW X1∙iX1’ competed, ultimately allowing the Ioniq 6 to claim the title.
The Ioniq 6 beat out the premium electric car ‘BMW i7’ and ‘Lucid Air’ to win the ‘World Electric Vehicle’ title and also claimed the ‘World Car Design’ honor, surpassing ‘Land Rover Range Rover’ and the Lucid Air.
Hyundai Motor CEO Chang Jae-hoon stated, “It is an honor to win the prestigious World Car of the Year for two years in a row. This accomplishment is the result of the efforts of all Hyundai employees and partners”. He added, “This award will serve as a driving force for Hyundai Motor Company to become a global leader in the electrification era and to advance as a provider of smart mobility solutions.”
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr