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New York 2024: World Car Awards winners announced for 2024

2025 Kia K4 | Photo: D.Boshouwers
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Daniel Rufiange
Three of the six awards went to Korean models, the Kia EV9 leading the way
  • The World Car jury announced its 2024 winning vehicles at the New York Auto Show. 

There's no shortage of awards across the industry when it comes to identifying the best vehicles on the market. At the New York Auto Show, the World Car of the Year awards were announced this morning.

Seeing as how we’re talking about “World Car” awards, we're talking about global products. 

Six awards are presented: World Vehicle of the Year, World Electric Vehicle of the Year, World Performance Vehicle of the Year, World Urban Vehicle of the Year, World Luxury Vehicle of the Year, and World Car Design of the Year. 

Kia EV9
Kia EV9 | Photo: Kia

Kia EV9
Six categories, but five winners for 2024, as the Kia EV9 came away with the two most coveted mentions, World Vehicle of the Year and World Electric Vehicle of the Year. 

The Kia SUV beat out the BYD Seal and the Volvo EX30 in the first category. In the second, it bested  the EX30 and BMW's i5 electric sedan. 

Volvo EX30
Volvo EX30 | Photo: D.Boshouwers

Volvo EX30
In the World Urban Vehicle of the Year category, the Volvo EX30 had some semblance of revenge. The Volvo representative beat out the BYD Dolphin and Lexus LBX to the prize. Priced at around $53,000 in Canada, this model could prove to be very popular. It also offers a high level of performance. 

Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
Hyundai Ioniq 5 N | Photo: Hyundai

Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
Then, in the world of performance, it was the Ioniq 5 N that beat the BMW M2 and BMW XM to the finish line, a remarkable feat given the high performance of these German models.

2024 BMW 530i
2024 BMW 530i | Photo: BMW

BMW 5 Series
Then, in the world of luxury vehicles, it was BMW's 5 Series range that took top honours, ahead of two other German representatives, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the Mercedes-EQ EQE.

 

2023 Toyota Prius
2023 Toyota Prius | Photo: Toyota

Toyota Prius
Another prestigious award was for World Design of the Year, and in that instance the jury chose the Toyota Prius. Who would have thought that one day the Prius would deserve such an honour, especially when we recall the rather soporific designs of the first-generation models. 

Daniel Rufiange
Daniel Rufiange
Automotive expert
  • Over 17 years' experience as an automotive journalist
  • More than 75 test drives in the past year
  • Participation in over 250 new vehicle launches in the presence of the brand's technical specialists