The all electric Kia EV9 has scooped the top prize at the 2024 World Car of the Year awards at an event at the New York Auto Show. The EV9's win makes it a triple for Korean car makers, following the success of Hyundai with the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 in 2022 and 2023 respectively. 

The EV9 was one of three final contenders which were all electric. For the first time in the award’s history BYD made the final cut with the Seal/Atto 4. Joining it on the shortlist were the winning Kia EV9 and the Volvo EX30 which picked up the World Urban Car award. 

After receiving the award Kia Global Design Director Karim Habib, told Electrifying.com: “I’m soaking up the moment, it means so much to me and the wider team to win this award and be recognised like this."

Kia achieved record sales in the UK in 2023 and Paul Philpott, President and CEO of Kia UK, said: "This is fantastic recognition for such an important vehicle in our ever-evolving line-up. It's made all the more important due to recognition from such esteemed journalists from the UK and around the world. I'm very proud of the Kia team for bringing such a sensational vehicle to market. We are fast becoming a true leader in electric vehicles."

The full line up of winners in all the categories:

World Car of the Year - Kia EV9

World Electric Vehicle - Kia EV9

World Luxury Car - BMW i5

World Performance Car - Hyundai Ioniq 5N

World Urban Car - Volvo EX30

World Car Design - Toyota Prius 

The nominated contenders were whittled down following extensive testing from a team of more than 100 jurors from 33 countries, which includes Electrifying.com editor-in-chief Ginny Buckley.

For the Design Award, a panel consisting of six highly respected world design experts review the candidates to come up with a short-list of recommendations for the jurors’ final vote. Judges include former Renault design boss Patrick le Quément, the ex-Chief Creative Officer of Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun Shiro Nakamura and Frank Stephenson who has designed for brands including Mini, Ferrari and Maserati.

The Person of the Year for 2024 has already been announced, with aerodynamicist Adrian Newey scooping the prize. Newey, the Chief Technical Officer of Red Bull is the designer and driving force behind the RB19, the most dominant race car in the history of Formula One.​

The winners receive trophies designed by former Jaguar Design Chief Ian Callum, a previous World Car Award winner for the Jaguar I-PACE.

The finalists were:

World Car of the Year - BYD Seal/Atto 4, Kia EV9, Volvo EX30​

World Electric Vehicle - BMW i5, Kia EV9, Volvo EX30

World Luxury Car - BMW 5 Series / i5, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV​

World Performance Car -  BMW M2, BMW XM, Hyundai Ioniq 5 N​

World Urban Car - BYD Dolphin, Lexus LBX, Volvo EX30

World Car Design - Ford Bronco, Ferrari Purosangue, Toyota Prius​

Previous electric winners of the World Car of the Year include:

2023:Hyundai Ioniq 6​

2022:Hyundai Ioniq 5​

2021:Volkswagen ID.4​

2019:Jaguar I-Pace​

The Ev9 also took the Electric Car title