BMW iX3 crowned World Car of the Year 2026

The all-electric BMW iX3 has been named World Car of the Year and World Electric Vehicle 2026 by an international jury of 98 motoring journalists from 33 countries.

Second place in the prestigious contest went to the Nissan Leaf, built at the Japanese giant’s Sunderland plant.

The BMW iX3’s win marks the eighth time in seven years that an EV has won the top global automotive prize, ending a four-year run of dominance by Kia and Hyundai.

It’s also the first BMW to be named World Car of the Year since the 3 Series in 2006.

Other 2026 winners included the Hyundai Ioniq 6 N, which was named the World Performance Car, while Nio’s cute Firefly electric supermini won the World Urban Car category, and the Lucid Gravity won the World Luxury Car award.

“We are happy with this fantastic accolade for the BMW iX3, the first representative of our Neue Klasse,” said Mike Reichelt, Head of Neue Klasse BMW.

“The BMW iX3 marks the beginning of a new era at BMW – in terms of design language, range, charging capacity as well as driver assistance – and BMW Panoramic iDrive.

“Above all, the BMW iX3 represents the next generation of Sheer Driving Pleasure powered by the Heart of Joy. The innovations from the Neue Klasse will benefit our entire product portfolio.”

Read our glowing review of the BMW iX3.