Teluride and Soul EV Win Two Crowns
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] Kia Motors has won two awards at the '2020 World Car Awards (WCA)'. This is the first time a Korean brand has received an award at the World Car Awards.
On the 8th (local time), Kia announced that the Telluride and Soul EV were selected as the '2020 World Car of the Year (WCOTY)' and '2020 World Urban Car' respectively at the '2020 WCA'. In particular, the World Car of the Year award won by the Telluride is considered the highest honor among the five award categories.
Established in 2004, the WCA is regarded as one of the world's top three automotive awards alongside the 'North American Car of the Year (NACTOY)' and the 'European Car of the Year'. Unlike the other two awards which are based on specific regional markets, the WCA is more meaningful as it encompasses the entire world. The judging panel consists of 86 automotive journalists from 24 countries worldwide including Korea, the United States, Japan, and India, who select the winners through a secret ballot, lending high credibility to the awards. The WCA usually announces the final winners at the New York Auto Show every year, but this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic delaying the New York Auto Show to August, a separate awards ceremony was held to announce the winners.
The award categories include World Car of the Year, World Urban Car, World Luxury Car, World Performance Car, and World Car Design of the Year.
The Telluride was named Car of the Year, beating the other finalists including the sport utility vehicle (SUV) 'Mazda CX-30' and the sedan/hatchback model 'Mazda3'. It topped the list among 29 models in total. The Soul EV was selected as the 'World Urban Car' after competing against two other models, the electric car 'Mini Electric' and the SUV 'Volkswagen T-Cross'. Additionally, the Porsche Taycan won both the World Luxury Car and World Performance Car awards, and the Mazda3 won the World Car Design of the Year award.
Kia Motors is the first Korean brand to win at the World Car Awards. Previously, last year, Hyundai's Nexo and Kia's Soul were nominated as finalists in the World Green Car and World Urban Car categories respectively, but did not win the final awards.
Thomas Schemera, Vice President of Kia Motors' Product Division, said, "Telluride and Soul EV have proven to be outstanding vehicles by winning at the 'World Car Awards', where the competition in the global automotive industry is the fiercest." He added, "Kia Motors is doing its best to create attractive, practical, and high-quality cars that customers love."
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