In recent years, the Hyundai Group has been at the forefront of winning prestigious vehicle awards, especially in the electric vehicle category. In 2020, Kia won multiple awards at the World Car of the Year (WCOTY) competition, including the overall title with the Telluride, World Performance Car with the EV6 GT, and World Urban Car with the Kia Soul EV. However, in 2021, Hyundai did not win any awards. This changed in 2022 when Hyundai Ioniq 5 won several awards such as World Car of the Year, World Electric Vehicle and World Car Design of the Year. In 2023, Ioniq 6 also won these same titles.
The WCOTY competition is a prestigious event that brings together a panel of one hundred automotive journalists from twenty-nine countries to test drive and evaluate thirty-eight vehicles. To be eligible for entry, a car must have an annual production exceeding ten thousand units, be available in at least two major global markets and be priced lower than luxury options in their region. The winner of each award is determined by a combination of votes from this panel as well as test driving results.
In addition to winning several awards in 2024, Kia made a strong comeback with its new EV9 which won both the World Car of the Year and World Electric Vehicle titles. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N also emerged victorious among performance cars by winning the World Performance Car title while beating out competitors like M2 and XM.
One of the biggest surprises was Toyota’s Prius winning
