THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS TO 2023 WORLD CAR FINALS IN NEW YORK
Top Ten and Top Five Finalists Announced; Plus, Person of the Year & Design of the Year
The New York International Automobile Show is pleased to announce that the WORLD CAR FINALS begins today with the announcement of the Top Ten and Top Five finalists in seven categories. The countdown ends on April 5 when the winners will be announced live at the 2023 New York Auto Show during an awards ceremony. This year marks the 18th year of the World Car Awards’ partnership with the New York International Auto Show.
“We salute this year’s finalists and are pleased to be part of the most important automotive awards program on the planet,” said New York Auto Show president, Mark Schienberg. “For nearly two decades the partnership between World Car and the New York Auto Show has recognized the very best the auto industry has to offer. We’re looking forward to once again co-hosting the awards ceremony during the opening of the 2023 Show in April. Congratulations and best of luck to all the finalists!”
The Road to the World Car Awards is an annual journey that follows 100 international jurors, from 32 countries, as they test-drive, and vote on, the eligible vehicles for the 2023 awards. The jurors’ road-test journey is captured virtually on World Car TV.
2023 WORLD CAR OF THE YEAR AWARDS
The 2023 World Car of the Year (WCOTY) winner will be selected from the following top ten finalists chosen from an initial list of 30 contenders:
Alfa Romeo Tonale- BMW 2 Series Coupé
- BMW X1 / iX1
- Honda HR-V (NA) / ZR-V (JP, CH, ASEAN)
- Hyundai Ioniq 6
- Kia Niro
- Mazda CX-60
- Mercedes-Benz C
- Nissan Ariya
- Nissan Z
2023 WORLD ELECTRIC VEHICLE top five finalists:
- BMW i7
- Genesis GV60
- Hyundai Ioniq 6
- Kia Niro EV
- Lucid Air
2023 WORLD LUXURY CAR class has the following top five finalists:
- BMW 7 Series / i7
- Genesis G90
- Land Rover Range Rover
- Land Rover Range Rover Sport
- Lucid Air
2023 WORLD PERFORMANCE CAR top five finalists are:
- BMW M4 CSL
- Kia EV6 GT
- Nissan Z
- Porsche 911 (992) GT3 RS
- Toyota GR Corolla
2023 WORLD URBAN CAR class:
- Citroen C3
- ORA Funky Cat / Haomao
- Volkswagen Taigo/Nivus
WORLD CAR DESIGN OF THE YEAR AWARD
All the above vehicles are eligible for the 2023 World Car Design of the Year award.
A design panel consisting of six highly respected world design experts was asked to review each candidate first and then establish a short-list of recommendations for the jurors’ final vote.
The design experts are in alphabetical order: Ian Callum (United Kingdom – Director of Design, CALLUM), Gert Hildebrand (Germany – Owner Hildebrand-Design), Patrick le Quément (France – Designer and President of the Strategy Committee – The Sustainable Design School), Tom Matano (USA – Academy of Art University, Former Head of Design – Mazda), Victor Nacif (USA – Chief Creative Officer, Brojure.com and Design instructor, New School of Architecture and Design) and Shiro Nakamura (Japan – CEO, Shiro Nakamura Design Associates Inc.).
The five finalists chosen by the design panel for the jurors’ final vote are in alphabetical order:
- Cadillac Lyriq
- Hyundai Ioniq 6
- Land Rover Range Rover
- Lucid AIR
- Nissan Z
WORLD CAR PERSON OF THE YEAR AWARD
The World Car PERSON of the Year was created in 2018 to recognize an individual who has made a significant contribution to the global automotive industry during the previous calendar year. That contribution could include a significant impact to their brand or company, or a significant safety, engineering, design or technical advancement of benefit to the industry or to consumers.
This year’s top five finalists represent the very best and most accomplished men and women in the industry, in very personal and different ways. Here they are, in alphabetical order:
- Wang Chuanfu, Chairman and President of BYD Co., Ltd
- Dr. Stella Clarke, Research Engineer Open Innovations, BMW Group
- SangYup Lee, Executive Vice President, Head of Hyundai and Genesis Global Design Center, Hyundai Motor Company (HMC)
- Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO, Lucid Motors
- Naoyuki Sakamoto, Chief Engineer, GR Corolla, GAZOO Racing Company, Toyota Motor Corporation