The BMW iX3 is BMW’s electric SUV. The hosts are saying it won big awards, meaning it impressed the judges on things like driving feel, tech, and efficiency.
World Car of the Year is a yearly award where car journalists from many countries test and vote on new cars. The goal is to pick the best overall car for that year.
World Car Finals is the concluding stage of the World Car awards process, where finalists are determined and winners are ultimately announced. The episode frames it as the “last click” after earlier test-drive and voting milestones.
The LA test drives are an annual event where jurors test eligible vehicles that may not be sold in their home markets. It’s part of the award’s effort to evaluate a wide range of cars fairly across regions.
The episode describes multiple voting rounds by international jurors, including announcements of top finalists. This multi-round approach is meant to progressively narrow the field based on test-drive impressions and criteria.
Newspress is described as World Car’s official media partner, handling distribution of communications to the global automotive industry and media. This is about how award coverage and updates get shared internationally.
The World Car Awards are big yearly awards for cars. Different categories are judged, like design, electric cars, and performance.
Concept
technology openness
“Technology openness” is basically BMW saying they want to be flexible and collaborative with technology, not closed off. They connect it to being connected and innovative.
BMW Neue Klasse is BMW’s new design and engineering plan for future electric cars. It’s meant to be a fresh “base” that helps EVs work better and fit more efficiently. The podcast mentions it because it’s the starting point for new electric models.
“ES90” here refers to a Volvo model that’s being recognized for its design. It’s mentioned because it’s considered the best-looking or most impressive design in that award group. The focus is on appearance and design choices.
“6e” here refers to a Mazda model that’s being talked about for its design. It’s included because it stands out visually compared with other cars in the same award group. The discussion is mainly about how it looks and how the design is presented.
The Chevrolet Spark is a small car made for city driving. It’s designed to be easy to maneuver and affordable to run. It’s mentioned because it fits the “urban” needs of short trips and tight parking.
They’re saying Firefly is NIO’s third separate brand. That usually means the company is targeting different kinds of customers with different product identities.
This award is for cars that are especially suited to city life. In the segment, Firefly is being credited for winning it based on urban-focused design and technology.
“World Luxury Car” is an award category for the best luxury vehicles, decided by an international jury. In this clip, they’re using it to highlight which luxury EVs are leading in tech.
“0 to 60” time is a common performance metric measuring how quickly a car accelerates from 0 mph to 60 mph. It’s often used to communicate straight-line acceleration capability, especially for EVs and performance trims.
This phrase is a marketing framing that suggests BMW is shifting its product strategy toward electrification. For listeners, it’s a cue that the iX3 is being positioned as a milestone in BMW’s EV rollout and technology direction.
Your drive train is the system that sends power to the wheels. Different powertrains (gas, hybrid, electric) can use different drive-train setups.
Concept
AI Auto Podcast
This is the show’s branding—an AI-focused car podcast. It’s basically about using AI ideas to talk about what might happen in cars next.
Term
AI steering the wheel
“AI steering the wheel” is a metaphor for how AI and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) are increasingly involved in vehicle control. It points toward features like automated steering assistance, driver monitoring, and predictive behavior.
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So in this episode, we're going to recap the 2026 World Car of the Year awards ceremony in New York. But before that, let's ask Rock. What do you think about your predictions of which in last week you said that the BMW iX3 was going to win two of the awards?
Oh, good catch! Honestly, I feel pretty smug right now. Turns out my call was dead on. The BMW iX3 just swept both the World Car of the Year and World Electric Vehicle Awards at the New York Show last week. Double win, no contest. Yeah, judges loved it too. Here's the beast and it's award-winning glory. And yeah, that's the trophy moment.
BMW iX3 grinning ear to ear. Honestly, it drove the competition into the ground. Better range, tech, and that quiet EV smoothness. What do you think when you heard?
Well, I think you were pretty smart. So let's hear the rest of the ceremony. Thank you.
Alright, let's dive into the highlights.
Our program is now beginning.
Now the road to World Car begins every year in September. The journey follows our 98 international journalists from around the world. They represent 33 countries this season and all the major automotive markets around the world, of course.
They test drive and then, of course, vote on the eligible vehicles for the award season.
Now the last click on that road is World Car Finals powered by Brembo. Brembo has been the host of the World Car Finals for eight consecutive years.
World Car, thanks Brembo for its ongoing support of this exciting annual countdown from January to today's winner's ceremony in the spring here at the New York International Auto Show.
Exciting stuff. We are getting closer to finding out the results. Now all the milestones on that road to World Car are tracked through World Car TV on YouTube and World Car's social media pages, of course.
One of the major stops on that road is also our annual LA test drives. That's an event that takes place mid-November. This past November was our eleventh edition.
It was an outstanding success with 35 jurors from 15 countries test driving some of the eligible vehicles that may not be available in their home market.
So it's a very popular event for sure. The first round of jurors voting then took place in December with the top ten and top five finalists announced in early January.
You all saw that. What came next, of course, was the announcement of World Car Person of the Year and then our second round of voting.
The next stop on the 2026 wrote the World Car was the announcement of the top three in the world. That was just a month ago.
That's when things really start to heat up. And now we are here to find out which of those three finalists in every category, all six of them, will be winners for 2026.
Accounting firm KPMG has been World Car's tabulation partner for 22 years, right from the start. KPMG is responsible for validating and tabulating all of the jurors' votes in both rounds of voting and also for World Car Person of the Year.
Thank you, KPMG. Newspress is World Car's official media partner responsible for the distribution of all World Car's communications to the global automotive industry and media every year.
Thank you, Newspress. Now, let's get to it. We are all set to present our first trophy.
As I said, it was back in February that our jurors selected the 2026 World Car Person of the Year and it was Oliver Zipsa.
As chairman of the Board of Management for BMW AG since 2019, Mr. Zipsa has guided one of the world's most respected premium automotive groups through a period of profound technological and strategic transformation.
It's over to Steve and Munich, who was with Oliver Zipsa just a few days ago.
Thank you, Steve, and welcome to Munich, where I'm at the unveiling of the new BMW i3, the latest in our class.
And more importantly, with me is Oliver Zipsa, CEO of BMW. Oliver, firstly congratulations on the i3. Congratulations on the nomination for iX3 for World Car the Year, but most of all, many congratulations to you for winning World Car Person of the Year for 2026.
Well, this award means a lot to me. It's one of the most recognizable awards in this industry and it stands for BMW's strategy of technology openness, being a global company which underlines the connectivity of the world, which believes in innovation and fun of driving at the same time.
And now, of course, it stands for the i3, which is right next to me. It's the second car of the Neue Klasse, a completely new architecture, fully electric.
And we start this year of the Neue Klasse with a new design, with a new user interface, with a very high mileage range.
And so we are very proud of this, and this award stands more than anything else for the team which stands behind this car, a team of more than 150,000 people who were all involved in creating this, a global footprint in manufacturing, in developing the car, in making the designs, in purchasing parts for it and so on.
And I think this award on behalf of the whole BMW team meant thank you so much.
And many congratulations to the whole BMW team. Now let's get to the cars. Let's open up those KPMG envelopes to know which cars are going to win in all of our categories.
All six. World Car Design of the Year, World Urban Car, World Electric Vehicle, World Performance Car, World Luxury Car and 2026 World Car of the Year.
Well, here to present the first of those awards in the World Car Design of the Year category is my colleague Jens Meiners, Chair Emeritus of the World Car Awards.
So let's have a look at the top three in the world for the 2026 World Car Design of the Year, please.
Kia BB5, Mazda 6E Easy 6 Volvo ES90.
The winner of the World Car Design of the Year 2026 award is the Mazda 6E Easy 6.
And I would like your chief designer of Mazda to come on stage and receive the award.
I'm very honored to receive the top design award in the world. This award gave us great encouragement. Mazda and Kodo design will continue to aim higher, create moving experiences and joy of living for our customers.
Thank you very much. Thank you.
And congratulations again. Now on to the next award. Here to present the World Urban Car is my colleague Steve Fowler.
Morning all. Everybody all right? Let's get on with it. World Urban Car.
So here are the top three in the world for the 2026 World Urban Car.
Bow June yet plus Chevrolet Spark EUV Firefly Hyundai Venue.
So the 2026 World Urban Car is Firefly.
And accepting the award we have Ganesha here, the CEO of NIO in the US.
On behalf of NIO and Firefly, those of you who are not familiar, Firefly is NIO's third brand. So NIO, Envo and Firefly.
So Firefly is the one who just won the award. So I'm deeply honored to accept the World Urban Car award.
Thank you for the precious recognition. This achievement would not have been possible without the dedication of our entire Firefly team.
Mostly in Shanghai. I'm sure team this is for you guys.
The trust of our global partners and the support of our most importantly our NIO users and the Firefly users.
Moving forward, Firefly will continue to put users at the center delivering thoughtful design and smarter technology to bring better urban mobility experiences around the world.
Once again, thank you and it's an honor to receive this award. Thank you.
Thank you to Firefly. Now here to present the World Electric Vehicle winner is Carlos Sandoval.
Ladies and gentlemen, Buenos Diaz and good morning. These are the top three in the world for 2026 World Electric Vehicle.
BMW iX3, Mercedes-Benz CLA, Nissan Leaf.
And the 2026 World Electric Vehicle is the BMW iX3. Congratulations.
Michael Reichen, head of the Neue Klasse BMW.
Ladies and gentlemen, dear members of the jury.
Five years ago, we started with a small project on scratch with a bold dream.
A dream to create a Neue Klasse that truly pushed the boundaries of technology.
That refinks electric mobility from the ground up.
This World Electric Vehicle Award for our first Neue Klasse model is a truly proud and emotional moment.
My sincere thanks to the members of the jury and especially to our whole Neue Klasse team.
Your passion, your belief and your relentless commitment made this possible.
This award is for you. Thank you very, very much.
Now, here to present the finalists for World Performance Car, my friend Jennifer Newman.
Good morning. Performance cars are every auto enthusiast's dream.
Let's take a look at the top three in the world for the 2026 World Performance Car.
BMW M2CS Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray Hyundai Ioniq 6N
The 2026 World Performance Car is the Hyundai Ioniq 6N.
Accepting the award is Jose Munoz, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company.
Good morning, everybody. It's such an honor to be here again with you this year.
Thank you to the members of the jury.
The Ioniq 6N follows the tradition that we started with the Ioniq 5N that also got the same award just a year ago.
And then it's a demonstration on the technology, on the capability of our men, women and engineers of this company.
So again, thank you very much, everybody.
And then let's get everybody into an Ioniq 6N to be able to go to the races.
Thank you.
Congratulations to Hyundai.
And here to present World Luxury Car is my friend and colleague Gabrielle Filinas.
Yes.
Hello, everyone. Good morning to all.
This year's finalists for World Luxury Car remind us that luxury vehicles are often at the forefront of technological innovation.
Let's take a look at the top three in the world for the 2026 World Luxury Car.
Cadillac Vistic, Lucid Gravity, Volvo ES90
And the 2026 World Luxury Car is Lucid Gravity, accepting on behalf of Lucid,
Nick Torque, Vice President of Communications, Lucid Motors.
There's no other vehicle in the world that can do quite what the Lucid Gravity can do.
It has 450 miles of EPA range, seating for seven people in all their gear,
and has the performance of a supercar of 0 to 60 in 3.1 seconds.
So thank you, everyone, for very honored to receive this award.
Here's once again my colleague, Sid Patanka.
Wow. Thanks, Gabrielle, and many congratulations to Lucid.
Now it is time to announce a new World Car of the Year.
So we began with 58 cars that were eligible nominees this year.
The competition was intense.
As it always is, the choice was tough as it always is.
Eventually, three cars drove to the top as our finalists.
These cars represent not just prowess, but also consumer aspiration and interest.
They define excellence and represent cutting-edge tech,
and interestingly, each one of them represent a vastly different segment of the auto industry worldwide.
So here is another look at the very compelling, deserving, and strong set of cars
in our top three in the world for World Car of the Year.
BMW iX3 Hyundai Palisade Nissan Leaf.
Top three of 58, a huge round of applause for all our finalists.
Many congratulations to all three.
May I also now invite Ryan Blair, Vice President of World Car Awards,
to join me on stage for the presentation.
And I should find the envelope.
All right, here it is. Let's see how long it takes me to open it.
The 2026 World Car of the Year is the BMW iX3.
Very impressed, Mike Raichel. So please come back on stage.
Thank you to all the jury for this incredible and truly unbelievable honor.
The World Car of the Year award for our BMW iX3.
For us, with the BMW iX3, there are no more reasons not to switch to a fully electric car,
but there are many reasons to choose a non-aircraft side.
More than 400 units in the A range, up to 400 people once charging power.
The BMW Panoramic Eye Drive with Alexa Plus Lutch Language Portal.
AIDAS system with symbiotic drive and of course,
sheer driving pleasure powered by the heart of joy.
The iX3 marks the beginning of a completely new era for BMW.
By the end of 2027, we will roll out the new classic technology
across 14 new models and model updates, no matter which drive train.
To all members of the new classic team, our BMW colleagues, partners and suppliers,
you made this possible. This is your award. Thank you very, very much.
That's it for today's AI Auto Podcast with Javier Moda.
Hope you enjoyed the ride as much as we did.
Tune in next time for more on how AI steering the wheel of tomorrow's autos.
Drive safe, stay curious and catch you later.
About this episode
The Total Car Score crew recaps the 2026 World Car Awards in New York, starting with a playful “prediction check” where Grok’s call that the BMW iX3 would dominate proves spot on. The iX3 sweeps World Car of the Year and World Electric Vehicle. The show also breaks down the full category winners—Mazda 6E Easy 6 (design), Firefly/NIO (urban), Hyundai Ioniq 6N (performance), and Lucid Gravity (luxury)—plus World Car Person of the Year, awarded to BMW AG chairman Oliver Zipse. The episode highlights how the awards are judged by international jurors and tabulated by KPMG.
In this exciting episode we celebrate the 2026 BMW iX3’s massive double victory at the World Car Awards! Grok called it perfectly — predicting the iX3 would take home top honors, and it delivered exactly as forecasted. We break down why the iX3 swept the awards, what this means for BMW’s electric future, and how Grok’s AI-powered analysis continues to outperform traditional automotive predictions.
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