The finalists for the 2023 World Car of the Year (WCOTY) have been announced, with representatives from Germany, Italy, Japan, and Korea all making the cut. No American, British, Chinese, or French cars made the final cut, although they did collectively proliferate the candidates’ pool.
Candidates that didn’t make the top 10 for the main title category include the Aiways U6, Chery Omoda 5, Chery Tiggo8 Pro, Citroen C3, Citroen C5 X, and Honda CR-V. The Honda HR-V e:HEV also appeared, as did the jeep Commander, MG4 EV, ORA Haomao, Smart #1, Subaru Solterra, and Suzuki S-Cross. The Subaru’s sibling, the Toyota bZ4X, and the Toyota Crown missed out on finalist spots, while the Vietnamese VinFast VF8 – now sold in America – and Volkswagen’s Taigo (otherwise known as the Nivus) and Virtus got a notable mention alongside the WEY Coffee 01, which recently impressed in European crash testing.
But before we discuss the finalists for World Car of the Year, let’s take a look at the finalists in other categories, like Luxury and Performance.