The Korea Automobile Journalists Association (KAJA) said on Aug. 6 that it selected BMW's electric sport utility vehicle (SUV) "the new iX3" as the car of August 2026.
The KAJA car of the year selection committee reviews new cars and facelift models released from the 1st to the last day of each month and announces the "car of the month."
Candidates for the car of August 2026 included new models unveiled in July: ▲ BMW the new BMW iX3 ▲ Lincoln all-new Lincoln Navigator.
Driving performance and energy efficiency, infotainment and connected systems, price competitiveness and product value, safety and advanced driving technology, and overall product appeal and purchase attractiveness were evaluated.
The BMW iX3 scored 58.7 out of a possible 70 points to be finally selected as the car of August. In particular, it earned 9 out of 10 points in the driving performance and energy efficiency category.
Won Sun-woong, chair of the car of the year selection committee, said, "The new BMW iX3 is a model that stands out for advances in driving performance and charging efficiency delivered by a dedicated electric-vehicle architecture," adding, "A single-charge driving range of 611 kilometers (based on domestic certification) and 350–400 kW ultra-fast charging set a new benchmark in the premium electric SUV market."