BMW iX3 crowned World Car of the Year 2026 as EVs lead the way
The BMW iX3 has been named World Car of the Year 2026, with the announcement made at the New York International Auto Show on 1 April.
- Industry News
- 2 April 2026
With Dongfeng entering South Africa a couple of weeks ago and with four dealerships operational now, it is interesting to look at the Chinese brand and its joint venture with Nissan (Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Company - DFN), launching the new Teana at the Guangzhou Motor Show in China for the Chinese market.
What is it?
The Teana is a large sedan equipped with Huawei's latest cockpit system, HarmonySpace5.0. This system will be adopted across all grades of the Teana sold in China.
Exterior:
The exterior features a sleek, elongated and refined look. Notable design elements include the “star ring” LED , which extends from the centre of the front grille to the headlights on both sides. The twin-projector LED headlights can illuminate up to 230 metres, the longest in its class, significantly enhancing night time driving safety.
Interior:
Inside, about 90% of the surface is covered with soft pads and ambient lighting with up to 256 colour settings has been installed. The vehicle also offers a large touchscreen display with touch operation and high-precision voice control throughout the cabin, providing comfort akin to a moving smart home.
The spacious interior allows for relaxed and comfortable seating in both front and rear seats. The seats feature spinal support, ventilation, memory functions and massage capabilities. A fully adjustable footrest is also included, enhancing comfort further.
As the world’s first internal combustion engine vehicle to feature HarmonySpace5.0 as standard, it offers an in-car system that functions like a smartphone. It includes a 15.6-inch Huawei intelligent display, the largest in its class, along with an AI voice assistant capable of high-precision voice recognition and over-the-air updates.
The vehicle comes standard with a 15-speaker sound system (17 speakers for the top-grade), developed jointly with HUAWEI SOUND.
Powertrain:
It is powered by Nissan’s 2.0-litre turbo engine, delivering 179kW and torque of 371Nm.
The BMW iX3 has been named World Car of the Year 2026, with the announcement made at the New York International Auto Show on 1 April.
Retail new vehicle sales continue to surge in South Africa despite global and regional conflicts, local floods and droughts.
South Africa’s new vehicle market delivered a standout performance in March 2026, extending its domestic growth trajectory to the strongest level seen in nearly two decades.
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