Distinction kudos for Kia, Renault, BMW 

UK (Commonwealth) _ The BMW 5 Series and Kia EV9 are two of this year’s winners of the Autocar Awards 2024, which honor the most important vehicles and individuals in the automotive industry.

In addition to winning the World Electric Vehicle honor, the Kia EV9 also won the 2024 World Car of the Year title. For the record, with this double triumph, Kia has now won five awards in the competition’s 20-year history, including an overall Telluride victory in 2020.

The EV9 was selected for the 2024 World Car of the Year category from a group of 38 initial entries. A month ago, the BYD Seal, the Volvo EX30, and the EV9 itself were the only three remaining finalists. The EV9 defeated the BMW i5 and the EX30 in the World Electric Vehicle class.

How about the other classifications? The Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the electric Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV were defeated by the BMW 5 Series, which includes the battery-powered i5 already stated, to win the title of World Luxury Car. In the two decades that the competition has been held, this is the BMW Group’s ninth award triumph.

Interestingly, the electric Hyundai Ioniq 5 N won the World Performance Car category, marking the Korean company’s seventh win, despite the BMW M2 coupe and the hybrid-powered BMW XM making the final three. For the record, Ioniq 6 won three times in 2023, and Ioniq 5 did the same one year earlier (winning the overall championship in each of their respective years).

Concurrently, the Volvo EX30 became victorious in the World Urban Car category, defeating the electric BYD Dolphin and the hybrid Lexus LBX, which were among the top three contenders. Following the XC60’s triumph in the overall competition, Volvo’s success in this sector was the company’s second victory in the competition’s history. Ultimately, the Toyota Prius triumphed over the Ford Bronco and Ferrari Purosangue to win the World Car Design of the Year award. The shortlist of suggestions for the jurors’ final vote in this category was created by a design panel made up of six “highly respected world design experts” from an initial list of seventy cars.

After winning the same title at What Car?’s own Car of the Year Awards earlier this year, the Renault Clio was voted the Best Small Car by our sister publication, Autocar, at its annual awards.

The Volkswagen ID 7 was acclaimed as the Best Saloon, while the seven-seat Kia EV9 won the title of Best Large Car. The BMW 5 Series was selected as the Best Hybrid vehicle, and the Cupra Born was voted the Best Electric Car.

The new Ford Mustang and the upgraded Lamborghini Huracán Sterrato took home the titles of Best Dream Car and Britain’s Best Driver’s Car, respectively.

In addition to disclosing Autocar’s selections of the greatest vehicles available for purchase, the Autocar Awards honor top performers in the automobile industry.

The Issigonis trophy, named for Sir Alec Issigonis, the original Mini designer, was won by Luca De Meo, CEO of Renault Group, for his leadership in guiding Renault’s future as well as in the broader European auto sector. In addition to leading a significant range extension for Renault that featured the return of the Reader’s Choice Award-winning Renault 5, he has reaffirmed the company’s commitment to decarbonization.

The Sturmey Award, named for Henry Sturmey, the founding editor of Autocar, went to Marek Reichman, the executive vice president and chief creative officer of Aston Martin. Reichman’s ten years of daring and thrilling model development, including the creation of the track-only sports vehicle Vulcan and the Aston Martin DB11 and DBX, were recognized with this honor.

Other industry leaders honored at this year’s Autocar Awards were Stephanie Wurst of Mini (Outstanding Leader), Andreas Mindt, the head of Volkswagen Design, and David Moss, senior vice president of research and development at Nissan (Mundy Award – Engineering).

The Editor’s Award went to Martin Brundle for his interesting coverage of Formula 1 and his passion for the sport; the Innovation Award went to Catesby Tunnel, an automobile test facility housed inside an abandoned railroad tunnel.

Toyota, the company behind the highly regarded Toyota Corolla and Toyota Corolla Touring Sports, won the Best Manufacturer award.