EVs dominated the 2024 World Car of the Year competition with Kia’s EV9 taking overall honours in a sea of competition from Chinese brands. Here are the other victors from the annual competition. 
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Hosted annually, with a jury comprising impartial automotive professionals from around the world (including South Africa), the 2024 World Car of the Year competition has concluded with a lineup of electrified vehicles taking the majority of trophies home. As a recap, vehicles eligible for World Car of the Year must be produced in volumes of at least 10 000 units/year, must be priced below the luxury-car level in their primary markets, and must be “on-sale” in at least two major markets (China, Europe, India, Japan, Korea, Latin America, USA) on at least two separate continents within the period January 1, 2023 and March 30, 2024. All vehicles eligible for other World Car award categories are automatically eligible for World Car Design of the Year.
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Unveiled during the live announcement at the 2024 World Car Awards ceremony held at the New York International Auto Show, it was the Kia EV9 which clinched the overall title. As a bonus to the World Car of the Year award, it also scooped the World Electric Vehicle award. Built on the E-GMP platform and available in several powertrain configurations, the EV9 marks Kia’s foray into electrification, with the large SUV incorporating the firm’s fourth-generation battery technology. This is Kia’s third victory at the prestigious awards which have been in existence since 2003 after the Telluride took the World Car of the Year title in 2020, the same year the Soul EV won the World Urban Car category. The EV9 also wins on the back of the EV6 GT earning World Performance Car of the Year in 2023 – remember, many supercars and hypercars are ineligible with the minimum production requirements annually.
2024 World Car of the Year Winners
- World Car Design of the Year – Toyota Prius
- World Urban Car – Volvo EX30
- World Electric Vehicle – Kia EV9
- World Performance Car – Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
- World Luxury Car – BMW 5 Series/i5
The EV9 sits atop the podium while the Chinese-built BYD Seal and Volvo EX30 round the podium. Other finalists include the Ford Bronco, Hyundai Kona/Kona Electric, Hyundai Santa Fe, Mazda CX-90, Subaru Crosstrek, Toyota Prius and Volkswagen ID.7 – a majority electric field. Peeking into the candidates for he 2024 World Car of the Year title, it is further apparent that electrification is chief on the agenda. Shortlisted was the Abarth 500e, BYD Atto 3/Yuan Plus, BYD Dolphin, Chevrolet Trax, Citroen C3 Aircross, Dayun ES3/SEV E-Wan Cross, Dorcen E20/Elaris Dyo, Fisker Ocean, GWM Haval H6, GWM ORA 07/Lightning Cat/Grand Cat, GWM WEY 03/Coffee 02/Latte 02, Honda e:Ny1/e:NS1/e:NP1, KG Mobility Torres/SsangYong Torres, Lexus LBX, Maxus Mifa 9, Mazda CX-50, MG One, Mitsubishi Outlander, NIO ET5, Omoda O5/Chery Arizzo 5, Peugeot 408/408 X, Seres 5/SF5, Smart #3, Suzuki Fronx, XPeng G9, XPeng P7, Zeekr 001 and Zeekr X.
Furthermore, Adrian Newey, the Red Bull F1 designer, earned the title of 2024 World Car Person of the Year. As the chief technical officer of Red Bull Racing, Newey’s aerodynamic prowess is behind the RB19, the most dominant Formula One race car in history.
In 2023, the RB19 triumphed in 21 out of 22 races, propelling Red Bull to its sixth Constructors’ Championship and securing Max Verstappen’s third World Drivers’ Championship. Newey’s design concept has become the benchmark for many competitors in the sport.
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