World Car Awards to acquire Women’s Worldwide Car of the Year program

The World Car Awards has agreed to acquire the Women’s World Car of the Year (WWCOTY) program. Going forward, the same non-profit association that operates World Car Awards will also oversee WWCOTY.

1. Dedicated steering committee to manage WWCOTY.
2. World Car Awards to work with former and current WWCOTY jurors for 2027 awards.

Under the agreement, WWCOTY will be managed by a dedicated steering committee as an adjunct to the World Car Awards. Meanwhile, World Car Awards will work with current and former WWCOTY jurors to build the 2027 edition of the awards by utilising systems and processes already used by the World Car Awards.

Beth Rhind, Co-founder and Executive Vice-President, World Car Awards said, “We value the hard work that has been done by the WWCOTY team, and the World Car Awards looks forward to building a strong brand and awards program focused on the goal of giving visibility to women in the automotive world and making women’s voices heard worldwide”.

Details of the upcoming 2027 edition of the World Car Awards, including jurors, award categories, and a complete timeline, will be announced separately, said the organization.

The World Car Awards were introduced in 2004 and comprise 98 automotive journalists, including Autocar India Editor-in-Chief, Hormazd Sorabjee. The BMW iX3 was named the 2026 World Car of the Year. 

The WWCOTY was founded in 2009 and currently consists of 86 women jurors, including Autocar India’s very own Renuka Kirpalani (consulting editor – videos) and Mugdha Mishra (editor – auto media strategy). For its 2026 edition, the Nissan Leaf was declared the overall winner of the Women’s Worldwide Car of the Year.