Having narrowed down the list a little over a month ago, the World Car of the Year (WCOTY) panel, comprising 102 automotive journalists from 33 countries, have just announced the finalists in each of the six different categories – and it’s an EV frenzy in the most coveted one.
That said, let’s delve right into it, starting with the World Car of the Year category, which sees the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai Ioniq 5, and Kia EV6 battling it out for the gold medal. The shortlist used to include the Audi Q4 e-tron, Cupra Formentor, Genesis G70, Honda Civic, Hyundai Tucson, Lexus NX, and the Toyota GR 86 and Subaru BRZ duo.
For the World Electric Vehicle of the Year, the jurors narrowed down the list to the Audi e-tron GT, Hyundai Ioniq 5, and Mercedes-Benz EQS, voting them in favor of the BMW iX and Ford Mustang Mach-E. In the World Urban Car, the Opel/Vauxhall Mokka, Toyota Yaris Cross, and Volkswagen Taigun are fighting for the top spot, while the new Dacia Sandero and Renault Kiger were dropped.
The finalists for the World Luxury Car are the BMW iX, Genesis GV70, and Mercedes-Benz EQS, favored over the Audi Q5 Sportback and Volvo C40 Recharge. The World Performance Car comprises the Audi e-tron GT, BMW M3/M4, and Toyota GR 86/Subaru BRZ. Here, the jurors dropped the Porsche 911 GT3 and Volkswagen Golf GTI/R. Finally, the World Car Design of the Year category includes the Audi e-tron GT, Hyundai Ioniq 5, and Kia EV6, which outvoted the Ford Mustang Mach-E, and Mercedes-Benz EQS.
In less than a month from today, the big winners will be announced at the 2022 New York Auto Show, and that gives you enough time to try and spot them. So, which ones do you think will drive home with an award?
After a series of unfortunate events put an end to Cristian's dream of entering a custom built & tuned old-school Dacia into a rally competition, he moved on to drive press cars and write for a living. He's worked for several automotive online journals and now he's back at autoevolution after his first tour in the mid-2000s. Full profile
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