Kia’s flagship electric sports utility vehicle (SUV), model EV9, has won the World Car of the Year, the highest honor at the World Cars Awards 2024. It also clinched the title of World Electric Vehicle, making it a two-time winner. Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 N also won in the performance car category.
According to the WCA, on the 28th, the Kia EV9 won the 2024 World Car of the Year. It beat out all 33 models that were nominated. The WCA, launched in 2003, selects the winners through a secret ballot by a panel of automotive journalists from major countries such as the United States, China, Japan, India, and Korea. The World Car of the Year is one of the top three car awards in the world, along with the North American Car of the Year and the European Car of the Year, and is the best honor among the five categories of WCA.
The 2024 WCA panel consisted of over 100 automotive journalists from 31 countries. This panel selected the final winners in five categories: urban car, Luxury Car, Performance Car, Electric Car, and Car Design, as well as the World Car of the Year.
The EV9 also won in the World Electric Vehicle of the Year category in 2024, making it a two-time winner. It easily beat strong contenders like the BMW i5 and the Volvo EX30.
Thanks to the EV9’s performance, Kia has won five awards in the 20-year history of the WCA. In 2020, the Soul EV and the Telluride won the World Urban Car and World Performance Car, respectively, and last year, the EV6 GT won the World Performance Car.
Song Ho Sung, Kia’s CEO, said, “It’s a great honor that the EV9 has become a two-time winner at the WCA. This achievement proves Kia’s excellent design and innovative technology.”
In addition to Kia, Hyundai also produced a winning model. The brand’s high-performance electric vehicle, the Ioniq 5 N, won the World Performance Car this year. It is the seventh award for the Hyundai brand at the WCA. The Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 won the World Car of the Year for two consecutive years in 2022 and 2023.
Jang Jae Hoon, CEO of Hyundai, said, “I’m glad that the Ioniq 5 N won the prestigious Performance Car award at the WCA. It represents Hyundai’s current status in the global electric vehicle market based on its performance and innovation.”
The positions of Hyundai and Kia in the global electric vehicle market are expected to grow even further. An industry insider said, “With the EV9, the Hyundai Motor Group has won the highest honor for three consecutive years. Especially since all the winners are electric vehicle models, this will increase the credibility of Hyundai and Kia’s electric vehicle technology.”
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