2024 World Car Awards Winners Announced: Kia EV9 Is Car Of The Year

Kia EV9, Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, BMW 5 Series Family, Toyota Prius and the Volvo EX30 claim the top honours.

After months of testing cars launched in 2023, the World Car jury has finally announced the winners of the 2024 World Car Awards at the ongoing New York International Auto Show (NYIAS). And to no surprise, it is the Kia EV9 bagging not one, but two of the coveted titles- 2024 World Car of the Year and 2024 World Electric Vehicle. Its counterpart, Hyundai Motor Company also bagged the 2024 World Performance Car title for the new Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, while the Volvo EX30 lifted the award for 2024 World Urban Car. The BMW 5 Series family, which includes the new 5 Series and the i5 were awarded the 2024 World Luxury Car while the Toyota Prius was crowned the 2024 World Car Design of the Year.

2024 World Car of the Year- Kia EV9

The Kia EV9 bagged the most coveted, 2024 World Car of the Year beating competition from BYD Seal, and the Volvo EX30. This is the second big win for the EV9 after bagging the class winner in the Luxury category for the German Car Of The Year. The Kia EV9 is the third product from the company on the massively successful and awarded electric global modular platform, or E-GMP.

2024 World Electric Vehicle- Kia EV9

The EV9 is a large SUV, with three-row seating, and plenty more to boast. It truly is a flagship for the Kia brand, and with the EV9, Kia is taking forward the overall story of where this brand is headed from an EV point of view. It beat competition from the likes of the Volvo EX30 and the BMW i5 electric sedan.

Overall, you get 541 km of driving range that is with the 19-inch wheels and of course that is on the long-range you can try and optimise that through your driving pattern and there are lots of different charging options, again as you would expect with the flagship model.

2024 World Urban Car- Volvo EX30

The EX30 was revealed earlier this year to almost universal acclaim and has already won several major awards. Not only is the Volvo EX30 the third fully electric Volvo model to be produced in Europe, but it is also the smallest SUV Volvo has ever launched, built on a purpose-designed electric car platform. The new EX30 beat competition from BYD Dolphin, and the Lexus LBX to claim the top honours.

2024 World Luxury Car- BMW 5 Series Family

This is the ninth award win for the BMW Group in the World Car Awards’ 20-year history. The BMW 5 Series / i5 was chosen from an initial entry list of thirteen vehicles from all over the world then a short list of three finalists as announced at the Geneva International Motor Show (GIMS). The BMW 5 Series family beat competition from the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV.

2024 World Performance Car- Hyundai Ioniq 5 N

This is the seventh award won by the Hyundai Motor Company in the World Car Awards’ 20-year history. In 2023, the Hyundai IONIQ 6 was a triple winner in the World Car of the Year, World Electric Vehicle and World Car Design of the Year categories. While in 2022, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 was also a triple winner in those same categories. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N was chosen from an initial entry list of 17 vehicles from all over the world then a short list of three finalists as announced at the Geneva International Motor Show (GIMS). Now, it has lifted the coveted title beating rivals such as the BMW M2, and the BMW XM.

2024 World Car Design of the Year- Toyota Prius

Last but not least, the Toyota Prius bagged the title for the 2024 World Car Design of the Year, beating 70 other rivals. A design panel consisting of six highly respected world design experts was asked to first review each candidate, and then establish a short-list of recommendations for the jurors’ final vote. The design experts are Gert Hildebrand (Germany – Owner, Hildebrand-Design), Patrick le Quément (France - Designer and President of the Strategy Committee - The Sustainable Design School), Tom Matano (USA – Academy of Art University, Former Head of Design – Mazda), Victor Nacif (USA - Chief Creative Officer, Brojure.com and Design instructor, NewSchool of Architecture and Design), Shiro Nakamura (Japan - CEO, Shiro Nakamura Design Associates Inc.) and Frank Stephenson (UK - Founder, Frank Stephenson Design).

In the final stage, the Toyota Prius beat the Ford Bronco, and the the Ferrari Purosangue to claim the top honours.