News
Hyundai Ioniq 6 wins World Car of the Year
Hyundai’s winning streak continues with a clutch of awards for its sleek and stylish Ioniq 6 electric saloon
Words by: Dan Trent
Published on 6 April 2023 | 0 min read
Hyundai has swept the World Car of the Year 2023 awards with its Ioniq 6, taking overall World Car of the Year, World Electric Vehicle and World Car Design of the Year. Impressively this is the second prize on the trot for Hyundai, given it won World Car of the Year for the Ioniq 5 in 2022.
Hyundai has turned a corner in the UK in recent years, moving from an unremarkable Korean manufacturer of cars that were neither the cheapest nor the prettiest. Nor were they especially nice to be in, given the generally hard plastics and outdated interiors. From there it has, however, blossomed into a brand that understands what consumers want from electric cars like almost no other, Kia and MG not far behind. But Hyundai has been brave and bold with its design and given buyers good value for money, building electric cars from a clean sheet of paper with lots of space, decent range and that sell for a relatively good price.
Hyundai has turned a corner in the UK in recent years, moving from an unremarkable Korean manufacturer of cars that were neither the cheapest nor the prettiest. Nor were they especially nice to be in, given the generally hard plastics and outdated interiors. From there it has, however, blossomed into a brand that understands what consumers want from electric cars like almost no other, Kia and MG not far behind. But Hyundai has been brave and bold with its design and given buyers good value for money, building electric cars from a clean sheet of paper with lots of space, decent range and that sell for a relatively good price.
Sister brand Kia also won World Performance Car with its barking-mad, very rapid Kia EV6 GT, while the gorgeous, fluid Lucid Air electric saloon won World Luxury Vehicle and the Citroën C3 won World Urban Car.
Erin Baker, Auto Trader's Editorial Director and World Car of the Year judge, said, "Hyundai is a well-deserved winner for the second year running of the most prestigious industry award going. Brands need to wake up to the realities of what consumers buying electric cars are after - namely exciting design that incorporates batteries from the ground up rather than shoe-horning them into existing models, and cars that offer decent value for the higher prices EV owners are expected to pay. Sister brand Kia does a similar job, and has also been recognised this year by the World Car Awards. Consumers can be confident that both marques offer them electric cars in sensibly priced packages, and the awards give that stamp of reassurance."
Erin Baker, Auto Trader's Editorial Director and World Car of the Year judge, said, "Hyundai is a well-deserved winner for the second year running of the most prestigious industry award going. Brands need to wake up to the realities of what consumers buying electric cars are after - namely exciting design that incorporates batteries from the ground up rather than shoe-horning them into existing models, and cars that offer decent value for the higher prices EV owners are expected to pay. Sister brand Kia does a similar job, and has also been recognised this year by the World Car Awards. Consumers can be confident that both marques offer them electric cars in sensibly priced packages, and the awards give that stamp of reassurance."
