In the global competition, the Korean brand’s electric car wins both the World Car of The Year and the World Electric Vehicle Award. In the other categories, successes went to the Hyundai Ioniq 5. BMW 5 Series, Volvo EX30 and Toyota Prius
Kia had a good tradition in World Car Awards, the event that awards awards to the best cars in various categories and above all the World Car of The Year, based on the votes of a jury with 100 automotive journalists from 29 countries. The Korean company that had already won in 2020 with Telluride and in 2023 with EV6 GT, this year it achieved a double success thanks to EV9, the first electric maxi SUV with three rows of seats: on the eve of the New York Motor Show, it won both the World Car of The Year 2024 and the World Electric Vehicle Award. Confirming that, beyond the diffusion problems, we are now in the age of batteries, in both cases the EV9 surpassed the BYD Seal and the Volvo EX30.
BMW is also a protagonist
Even the “cousin” Hyundai can celebrate, thanks to Ioniq 5 N which won the World Performance Car Award. The high-performance electric crossover had entered the shortlist of the three finalists together with the BMW M2 and the BMW XM. In any case, the Bavarian company did not return home empty-handed, because the new generation of 5 Series (including its i5 electric variant) has won the title of World Luxury Car 2024. And it did so at the end of an all-German derby with Mercedes-Benz, which had brought two models to the final – for this specific category: the new E-Class and the electric EQE SUV.
The design rewards Toyota
Volvo EX30 – a good third in the major award – partially redeemed itself with the World Urban Car Award, assigned to models no larger than 4.25 metres. Also in the final were the Byd Dolphin and the Lexus LBX. For the Swedish company, it is Volvo’s second Award in the event after the victory of the XC60 in the 2018 edition of the World Car of The Year. Finally, the success of is surprising (up to a certain point). Toyota Prius in the World Car Design of The Year. The award, snatched at the last act from the Ford Bronco and the Ferrari Purosangue, once again demonstrates the excellent work that the Japanese company is doing on the stylistic front, well represented by the new generation of its hybrid model.
