Awards Ceremony Held at New York Auto Show on the 16th
Hyundai Motor Group Wins Two Out of Six Categories
Kia EV3 Named World Car of the Year
Hyundai Casper Electric Selected as World Electric Vehicle of the Year
Hyundai Motor Group swept major awards at the '2025 World Car Awards,' including being named World Car of the Year for the fourth consecutive year.
On the 16th (local time), Hyundai Motor Group announced that the Kia EV3 was selected as the 'World Car of the Year (WCOTY)' at the 2025 World Car Awards, and the Hyundai Casper Electric was named 'World Electric Vehicle of the Year,' winning two out of six categories in total.
With this, Hyundai Motor Group has won the World Car of the Year award five times in the past six years, starting with the Telluride in 2020. In particular, dedicated electric vehicles from Hyundai Motor Group?IONIQ 5 in 2022, IONIQ 6 in 2023, EV9 in 2024, and now the EV3?have won the World Car of the Year for four consecutive years, once again proving the world-class excellence of their electric vehicles.
The EV3 was recognized for its competitiveness by making the final shortlist alongside the Hyundai Casper Electric and BMW X3 in the World Car of the Year competition, which featured a total of 52 models. The EV3 is a dedicated compact SUV electric vehicle that supports Kia's strategy to popularize electric cars. It offers excellent electrification technology along with advanced features that are highly preferred by customers.
Song Ho-sung, President of Kia, said, "This award demonstrates Kia's global leadership in providing sustainable mobility solutions based on innovative technology and excellent design," adding, "The EV3 proves that it offers a new user experience to customers worldwide with best-in-class product competitiveness."
Hyundai's Casper Electric was selected as the World Electric Vehicle of the Year at the 2025 World Car Awards, beating the Porsche Macan Electric.
The Casper Inspiration model, equipped with a 49 kWh battery, achieves a single-charge driving range of 315 km (based on 15-inch wheels and Ministry of Industry certification). It can be charged from 10% to 80% in just 30 minutes using a 120 kW charger. Additionally, compared to the existing Casper, the wheelbase was extended by 180 mm to increase rear legroom, and the trunk length was increased by 100 mm to secure ample cargo space.
Launched in 2004, the World Car Awards is considered 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 (COTY). The results are announced annually at the New York International Auto Show.
Unlike the other two awards, which are based on specific regional markets, the World Car Awards target the global market and qualify new cars that have sold more than 10,000 units annually on at least two continents, giving it high prestige and symbolism.
The award categories for the World Car Awards include ▲World Car of the Year ▲World Electric Vehicle of the Year ▲World Performance Car of the Year ▲World Luxury Car of the Year ▲World Urban Car of the Year ▲World Car Design of the Year, totaling six categories.
For this evaluation, a total of 96 distinguished automotive journalists from 30 countries worldwide, including Korea, the United States, Europe, China, Japan, and India, participated as judges for the World Car Awards. They test-drove the nominated vehicles and voted to select the Car of the Year in each category.
Steven Center, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Kia America, receiving the World Car of the Year (EV3) award. (From left) Siddharth Vinayak Patankar, Chairman of the World Car Awards, Steven Center, COO of Kia America, Jens Meiners, World Car Awards Judge. Photo by Kia
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