BMW celebrates global double
BMW’s iX3 has scooped two international awards after being crowned the World Car of the Year and World Electric Vehicle for 2026.
The marque celebrated its double success in the 2026 World Car Finals after the winners were announced during a ceremony at the New York International Auto Show this month.
Mike Reichelt, BMW’s head of Neue Klasse, says: “We are delighted by this outstanding result for the BMW iX3, the first production model of the Neue Klasse.
“The iX3 marks the beginning of a new era for BMW in terms of design language, range and charging performance, driver assistance systems, and the user experience with the first-ever BMW Panoramic iDrive.”
An initial list of 58 contenders from across the world was selected for the annual awards before three finalists for the overall title – the iX3, pictured, Hyundai Palisade and Nissan Leaf – were announced in March.
Other category winners included the Lucid Gravity being named world luxury car, Hyundai’s Ioniq 6 N claiming the performance title and the Firefly landing the urban car gong. The world car design of the year honour went to the Mazda 6e/EZ-6
A jury of 98 automotive journalists from 33 countries selected the competition’s winning cars by secret ballot based on their evaluation of each eligible vehicle as part of their professional work.
Vehicles eligible for World Car of the Year must be produced in volumes of at least 10,000 units per year, must be priced below the luxury-car level in their primary markets, and must be “on-sale” in at least two major markets on at least two separate continents from January 1, 2025, to March 30, 2026.
