The 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 has taken home the World Car of the Year award. Hyundai’s funky, curvaceous electric sedan also won the World Electric Vehicle and World Car Design of the Year awards.
It’s the second consecutive triple-win for Hyundai, which won the same three awards last year with its Ioniq 5 SUV. The two cars use the same platform and powertrain, but they look nothing alike. The back-to-back wins read as a validation of Hyundai’s unique design strategy. While most companies strive to give their cars an obvious family resemblance, Hyundai has allowed designers to produce utterly unique shapes unconnected to each other. That design freedom is producing cars with distinct personalities that impress critics.
The Ioniq 6 is one of the most unique-looking cars to reach the American market in recent years. Its sweeping design — Hyundai resurrected the pre-World-War-II term “streamliner” to describe it — gives it impressive aerodynamics to help boost its range over the boxier Ioniq 5.
Perhaps more importantly, the lines make it eye-catching.
The Ioniq 6 starts at $45,500 and comes with two years of free 30-minute charging sessions on the Electrify America network. It boasts range figures from 270 to 361 miles and power figures up to 320 horsepower. But it’s the slippery exterior and ultra-modern, airy-feeling interior that sets it apart.
A jury of 100 automotive journalists from 30 countries decides the winners. This year, the panel included Kelley Blue Book contributors Abigail Bassett and Nicole Wakelin.
Other winners include:
World Luxury Car of the Year — 2023 Lucid Air
World Performance Car of the Year — 2023 Kia EV6 GT
World Urban Car of the Year — Citroen C3 (not sold in the U.S.)
World Car Person of the Year — SangYup Lee, Executive Vice President, Head of Hyundai and Genesis Global Design Center, Hyundai Motor Company
