A jury of 100 distinguished international automotive journalists from 29 countries selected the winners of the World Car Awards 2024.
Kia has been awarded top honors in two categories at the World Car Awards 2024. The Korean carmaker has bagged the Best Car of the Year as well as the Best Electric Vehicle of the Year awards for its flagship model– EV9. The all-electric SUV made its global debut last year and is currently on sale in international markets such as North America, South Korea, etc.
This takes Kia’s award tally to five in the 20-year history of the World Car Awards. Last year, the Kia EV6 GT won the 2023 World Performance Car title whereas in 2020, Kia won the World Car of the Year title for Telluride and the World Urban Car award for Soul EV. The World Car Awards were organized on the sidelines of the 2024 New York Auto Show.
The EV9 made its maiden appearance at the 2021 Los Angeles Auto show which was followed by its global debut in Seoul, South Korea in March 2023. Essentially a fully-electric derivative of the Kia Telluride, the EV9 will head to the Indian market later this year as a fully-imported CBU model. Recently, an uncamouflaged test mule of the same was spotted on Indian roads last month.
Kia EV9 powertrain & features
Based on the E-GMP platform, the EV9 is the first Kia to feature fourth-generation battery technology for improved performance. Internationally, it comes with three powertrain options. The entry-level variant is offered with a 76.1 kWh battery pack mated to a 215 bhp electric motor mounted on the rear axle. This version offers a claimed range of 358 km on a single charge.
The mid-level variant gets a larger 99.8 kWh battery that offers a 541 km range on single charge. This battery unit is linked to a rear-wheel drive motor. The top-spec variant gets the larger 99.8 kWh battery sending energy to a dual-motor setup delivering a peak combined output of 380 bhp and 600 Nm torque.
In terms of features, the EV9 boasts of a twin-screen setup housing 12.3-inch displays for digital instrument cluster and touchscreen infotainment system, a 4-spoke steering wheel, a 60:40 split remote folding 2nd row seats with headrests, a 50: 50 split remote folding 3rd row seats with headrests, a 14-speaker Meridian sound system, an adjustable smart power tailgate, a panoramic sunroof, etc.