Auto News Desk – The 2023 World Car of the Year awards have now entered the final stage with the top three finalists in each category. The winners in each category will be announced next month on April 5 at the New York International Auto Show. The list of semi-finalists has been reduced to just three. BMW continues to compete with the new-gen X1 and iX1, while Hyundai Motor Group offers the other two models in the segment. Hyundai’s own Ioniq 6 remains a strong contender while the company’s sub-brand Kia is also in the fray along with the Niro. All three cars were chosen from a list of 10 cars which included the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Nissan Z and the Honda HR-V.
In the world electric car segment, the Ioniq 6 also ranks last here alongside the new BMW i7 and the Lucid Air. The BMW i7 (includes the standard BMW 7 Series) and the Lucid Air also make it to the final list with Hyundai’s conglomerate luxury car brand Genesis in the final three of the world luxury car segment with its flagship G90 sedan. All three models were able to hold off challenges from the new Range Rover and Range Rover Sport to make the final three.
In the World Performance Car segment, the Kia EV6 GT, Nissan Z and Toyota GR Corolla are no longer in the final battle with the BMW M4 CSL and the Porsche 911 GT3 RS. The World Urban Car category remains unchanged from the previous round, with the India-built Citroën C3 is still in dispute. There were only three models in this category automatically making the cars finalists in the segment. The World Car jury also announced the top three finalists for the World Car Design Award, while all models among the contenders were in contention for the award in previous rounds, only the Hyundai Ioniq 6, Range Rover and Lucid Air made it to the finals.