At the New York International Auto Show, the World Car of the Year and other winners in different categories were revealed. The overall winner is the Kia EV3, chosen by 96 international automotive journalists from 30 countries out of 52 contenders.
This is Kia’s second consecutive World Car of the Year win and the third World Car of the Year win overall. The Kia EV9 won last year, while the Kia Telluride won in 2020. Today’s win brings the total number of awards won by Kia to six in World Car’s 21-year history.
“It is an immense honour for everyone at Kia that the EV3 has been awarded the 2025 World Car of the Year title. This award highlights Kia’s global leadership in providing design-led, technologically advanced, sustainable mobility solutions and how the EV3’s class-leading attributes redefine the user experience for customers worldwide,” said Ho Sung Song, President and CEO at Kia.
The KIA EV3 was chosen from an initial list of 52 contenders worldwide and then a short list of three finalists: the BMW X3, the Hyundai Inster/Casper Electric, and the Kia EV3.
Vehicles eligible for World Car of the Year title 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, US) on at least two separate continents within the dedicated period. For 2025, this period ran from January 1st, 2024, to March 30th, 2025.
Category winners
Thirty-one vehicles competed in the ‘World Electric Vehicle’ category this year. The 2025 top three were the Hyundai Inster/Casper Electric, the Kia EV3, and the Porsche Macan Electric. The Inster/Casper Electric won.
The BYD Seagull/Dolphin Mini was chosen from an initial entry list of twelve vehicles for the 2025 ‘World Urban Car’ title. The three 2025 finalists were the BYD Seagull/ Dolphin Mini, the Hyundai Inster/Casper Electric, and the Mini Cooper Electric.
The 2025 ‘World Luxury Car’ is the Volvo EX90. It was chosen from an initial entry list of ten vehicles, and the top three finalists were the Porsche Macan, the Porsche Panamera, and the Volvo EX90.
Finally, the 2025 ‘World Performance Car’ title was attributed to the Porsche 911 GTS. Seventeen cars competed in this category, and the three finalists were the BMW M5, the Porsche 911 Carrera GTS, and the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT.
Additionally, a design award is given each year. In 2025, the World Car Design of the Year title went to the VW ID.Buzz. It won before the Kia EV3 and the Toyota Land Cruiser.
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