The World Car Awards has announced its Top Three in the World finalists across six categories, with winners to be revealed at the New York International Auto Show on April 1. A jury of 98 automotive journalists from 33 countries voted by secret ballot, with results tabulated by KPMG. Now in its 22nd year, it remains the biggest automotive awards program globally by media reach.
Here are the finalists that matter, and what they tell us about 2026.
World Car Of The Year
The big one. BMW’s iX3, the Hyundai Palisade and the Nissan Leaf are your three finalists. The iX3 appearing here and in the World Electric Vehicle category suggests BMW’s latest crack at a mainstream electric SUV has landed far better than its predecessor. The Palisade making the cut is a nod to Hyundai’s continued dominance in the large family SUV space, and the Nissan Leaf’s inclusion is a genuine feel-good story. Nissan’s little EV has been reborn and the jury clearly thinks the new generation is worthy of the top table.
World Electric Vehicle
BMW iX3, Mercedes-Benz CLA and Nissan Leaf. The CLA is the interesting one here. Mercedes has been on a rocky road with its EV strategy, and the new CLA making this shortlist suggests the brand might finally have an electric car that connects with buyers on something beyond spec sheets. The Leaf appearing in both this category and the overall Car of the Year race is a strong showing for Nissan.
World Luxury Car
Cadillac Vistiq, Lucid Gravity and Volvo ES90. Two American entries and a Swedish one, with no German representation at all. That’s a sentence you couldn’t have written five years ago. Lucid continues to punch above its weight as a brand, and the Gravity SUV making this list validates the company’s push beyond the Air sedan. The Volvo ES90 also pops up in the Design category, which tells you Volvo’s design language is resonating with people who actually know what they’re looking at.
World Performance Car
BMW M2 CS, Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray and Hyundai Ioniq 6 N. This is the spicy one. The Corvette E-Ray, a hybrid performance car from a brand that spent decades resisting electrification, sitting alongside the Ioniq 6 N, which is a fully electric sedan that Hyundai essentially turned into a track weapon. The M2 CS is arguably the most traditional performance car left in BMW’s lineup, and its presence here feels like a last hurrah for a certain kind of driving experience. If the Ioniq 6 N takes this category, it would be a landmark moment.
World Urban Car
Baojun Yep Plus (also badged as the Chevrolet Spark EUV), Firefly and Hyundai Venue. Firefly, Lotus’s entry into the affordable EV space, making a World Car Awards shortlist is worth paying attention to. The Baojun/Chevrolet entry represents the Chinese manufacturing pipeline that’s reshaping global small car economics.
World Car Design Of The Year
Kia PV5, Mazda 6e (also known as the EZ-6) and Volvo ES90. The Kia PV5 is a commercial-meets-lifestyle platform play that looks like nothing else on the road, and the Mazda 6e is Mazda’s partnership with Changan in China producing a sedan that carries the 6 nameplate forward into the electric era. Both are design-forward choices that suggest the jury is rewarding risk over refinement.
Winners will be announced live in New York on April 1. The full list is worth bookmarking if you want a snapshot of where automotive design, engineering and market strategy are heading globally. There’s not a single diesel on any of these shortlists, which tells its own story.
