Crossovers of all shapes and sizes are in high demand right now and it seems the very best ones are electric. The three finalists for the World Car of the year competition have been announced and they’re all sporty electric high riders - Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6.
The latter has already been crowned (European) Car of the Year for 2022, so its presence among the top three is not surprising. Hyundai Ioniq 5 is equally talented and geared more towards comfort, but its polarizing design is not as unanimously appreciated as the Kia’s. The Mach-E is a direct rival to the talented Korean duo and together they also suggest which size segment is the most hotly contested.
Gallery: 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5: First Drive
Looking through the different categories where three finalists have been revealed, the Hyundai pops up again twice, in World Electric Car of The Year, alongside the Audi E-Tron GT and the Mercedes-Benz EQS, as well as in World Car Design Of The Year, where it is again joined by the E-Tron GT and the Kia EV6.
The Audi is among the three finalists for World Performance Car Of The Year with the BMW M3 / M4 and the Toyota GR86 / Subaru BRZ. In the battle for World Luxury Car Of The Year, the BMW iX and the Mercedes-Benz EQS face off against the Genesis GV70.
Gallery: 2022 Kia EV6 LR RWD
Even in the World Urban Car Of The Year, the Opel Mokka is present (available also as the completely electric Mokka-E) and competing against the Toyota Yaris Cross and the ubiquitous Volkswagen Tiguan. EVs really dominated WCOTY this year and at this rate, next year there may not be any more internal combustion-engined vehicles among the finalists in any of the categories.
There are some very powerful and exciting plug-in hybrids in the pipeline, so maybe we might still see them in the performance category. Everywhere else, however, it seems EVs have climbed to the top of their class in most size brackets.
Gallery: 2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition
The winners in all six categories will be announced live at the 2022 New York Auto Show on April 13. Mark Schienberg, NY Auto Show President said
We are proud to be part of the most important automotive awards program on the planet and are looking forward to coming back this spring and announcing the winners live at the Auto Show in April. While the last two years have been challenging for everyone, car buyers are ready to come out and experience all the amazing new vehicles and technologies the industry has to offer. Congratulations and best of luck to all the finalists!
More EV awards
Source: World Car Awards