Hyundai Motor’s IONIQ 6 named World Car of the Year, two others

[Photo provided by Hyundai Motor]

Hyundai Motor Co.’s IONIQ 6 was named the World Car of the Year and two others at the 2023 World Car Awards on Wednesday, beating out the BMW X1 and iX1, as the South Korean top automaker strives to expand presence in the global electric vehicle (EV) market based on the basic values that focus on customer trust and quality and safety.

Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) said on Thursday that the IONIQ 6 was honored by the World Car Awards at the New York International Auto Show. It is the second straight IONIQ model to win awards following IONIQ 5’s wins last year.

The IONIQ 6 won two other awards - World Electric Vehicle and World Car Design of the Year.

The World Car Awards, launched in 2004, is an annual event that involves 100 famed automotive journalists from 32 countries including Korea, the U.S., Europe, China, Japan and India who select winners in a secret vote. It is known to be objective and authoritative and thus stands as one of the three major awards in the auto industry along with the North American Car of the Year and the European Car of the Year.

HMG won the World Car of the Year award three times in the last four years, including the award won by Kia Corp.’s Telluride in 2020.

This year, IONIQ6 competed for the spot with other global car brands and outperformed BMW X1 and iX1. It also won against BMW i7 and Lucid Air in the electric car category. For the World Car Design of the Year, it defeated Land Rover Range Rover, among others.

“We are thrilled to receive this prestigious honor two years in a row, which recognizes the tremendous talents and unrelenting efforts of everyone at Hyundai Motor Company to bring EVs like IONIQ 6 to market,” said Jaehoon Chang, president and chief executive officer of Hyundai Motor. “This honor reinforces our commitment to be a global leader in vehicle electrification and will serve to embolden our efforts as a smart mobility solutions provider.”

Yoon Seung-gyu, president and chief executive officer of Kia North America Region and Kia U.S. [Photo provided by Hyundai Motor]

Industry insiders note that this success is attributed to HMG Chairman Euisun Chung’s focus on customer trust, quality and safety since he took the realm more than two years ago. Chung had stressed in his new year’s remarks that “customers will join the new change and challenge with trust only if we keep our basic principles of quality and safety.” He also said that the group will “reinforce its leadership in the global EV market by developing and supplying evolved cars and continue our move toward electrification.”

Kia’s EV6 GT was also named the Performance Vehicle of the Year at the event.

As the EVs of Hyundai Motor and Kia have joined the ranks of globally acclaimed premium cars, HMG’s advance into the U.S. EV market is expected to gain momentum. The group, which has become ineligible for EV subsidies until it begins local production under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), is intent on targeting the high-income consumers not eligible for subsidies in the U.S. Cars of Hyundai and Kia such as IONIQ 5 and 6 and EV6 have the biggest advantage against the competitors in terms of the share of high-end consumers who are excluded from subsidies, according to HMG.

HMG also plans to move up the completion of its new EV plant “Metaplant America,” which is being built in Georgia, U.S., by a year.

“If possible, we will try to move up the completion to mid-2024,” said Yoon Seung-gyu, president and chief executive officer of Kia North America Region and Kia U.S., at the New York International Auto Show. “It is quite possible as the group intends to mobilize all resources to expedite EV production.”