The 2026 World Automotive of the 12 months will likely be both the BMW iX3, Hyundai PalisadeorNissan Leaf.
The announcement of those three finalists closes the door on Kia taking the highest spot for a 3rd yr in a row, although its sister model Hyundai nonetheless has an opportunity – and Kia might nonetheless win one of many different awards included within the worldwide competitors.
After saying the highest 10 finalists for World Automotive of the 12 months in January, the jury has now launched the High Three within the World finalists.
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That features not solely the above shortlist for the World Automotive of the 12 months gong, but additionally the highest three finalists for the opposite classes of the competitors.
Basic Motors (and its Chinese language joint-venture companions), BMW and Hyundai have essentially the most top-three finishers, with three every.
The general winners will likely be introduced on April 1 on the 2026 New York Worldwide Auto Present.
Similtaneously the discharge of the highest 10 finalists in January – from which one winner will likely be chosen as the general World Automotive of the 12 months – the panel additionally launched the prime 5 finalists for 4 different awards.
The Audi A6/S6 e-tron and Hyundai Ioniq 9 have now been knocked out of the operating for World Electrical Automobile.
As a substitute, the winner of this class will likely be one of many following:
The electrical Audis, in addition to the combustion-powered A6/S6 vary, have additionally been eradicated from the World LuxuryCar competitors. The winner of this award will likely be one of many following:
For World Efficiency Automotive, the Defender OCTA and Mercedes-AMG GT63 Professional have been knocked out of competition. The remaining finalists for this award are:
The World City Automotive gained’t be the Alfa Romeo Junior or the Wuling Binguo/Ari Poly. The highest three finalists for this award are:
Lastly, the highest three finalists for World Automotive Design of the 12 months are:
A design panel comprising seven world design specialists was requested to assessment every candidate and create a shortlist for the jurors’ remaining vote on World Automotive Design of the 12 months.
All the finalists are bought right here or have been locked in for an Australian launch, other than the Baojun Yep Plus, Firefly, and Lucid Gravity.
The shortlisted Hyundai Venue is, nevertheless, an overhauled model bought in India.
The highest three finalists for every award have been chosen by secret poll, and the general winners may also be decided in the identical method.
The jury consists of 98 automotive journalists from 33 international locations, together with CarExpert co-founder and presenter, Paul Maric.
Korean manufacturers have had an amazing run this decade on the World Automotive of the 12 months awards, with Kia successful thrice – in 2020 with the Telluride and in 2024 and 2025 with the EV9 and EV3, respectively – and Hyundai successful in 2022 (with the Ioniq 5) and 2023 (with the Ioniq 6).
The one non-Korean automotive to win World Automotive of the 12 months this decade was the Volkswagen ID.4 in 2021, although European, Japanese and Chinese language manufacturers have been well-represented within the different annual awards.
