Kia EV3 Profitable World Automotive of the Yr is Previous Information however Good Information

The true story is that Kia is critical in its electrical desires

Kia EV3 received the 2025 World Automotive of the Yr award on the New York Worldwide Auto Present. However that’s outdated information. What’s extra important is that since 2020, Kia has received the awards six instances and solely as soon as for an inside combustion automobile — the Telluride — which is a North America particular mannequin.

What most of the 96 automotive journalist-judges noticed with the EV3 was Kia’s profitable transfer to take profitable ideas from one other World Automotive award winner, the strong EV9 electrical SUV, and put them right into a smaller, extra reasonably priced swimsuit. It wasn’t shrinking the EV9, it was a rethinking of its DNA. I assume it labored for the judges. The clear, trendy look with robust strains and surprisingly roomy and versatile inside gave it main thumbs up.

“This award highlights Kia’s world management in offering design-led, technologically superior, sustainable mobility options and the way the EV3’s class-leading attributes redefine the consumer expertise for purchasers worldwide,” Ho Sung Track, the President and CEO at Kia, stated in regards to the win.

“That’s an actual affirmation. Once you take a look at the string of our EVs profitable that, it says quite a bit in regards to the route that we took and likewise rising excessive credibility in that house,” Steven Middle, EVP and Chief Working Officer of Kia America, stated in an interview with Newsweek.

The Kia EV3 was designed to journey as much as 600 kilometers (375 miles) on a single cost. Reaching this sort of distance in a compact automobile was a significant factor within the win, however not as a lot as its charging velocity, which tops up from 10% to 80% in about half-hour. Kia’s AI assistant and its lane-keeping and freeway driving help capabilities are a part of the EV3’s arsenal, and like many electrical vehicles, it may well get software program updates from the cloud.

The EV3 World Automotive of the Yr trophy is yet another for Kia’s cupboard, and one in all its first World Automotive awards was one other EV — the Kia Soul — which received the World City Automotive of the Yr, facet by facet with the Telluride in 2020. Again then, the Telluride’s large 3.8-liter engine, big house, and fancy fitments received the hearts of the judges, and of reporters.

The Kia Soul EV was reported on solely as a by the way in which, when, in truth, it was the “soul of Kia’s EV ambitions.” It turned the transferring check mattress for buyer acceptance, not less than within the North American market. The quirky trying subcompact SUV provided two battery choices, the extra well-liked being the 64.8 kWh pack offering a spread of 450 kilometers (~280 miles).

Final 12 months, it was the Kia EV9 that took each the World Automotive of the Yr and the World Electrical Car of the Yr award. Not dangerous for the full-size, three-row electrical SUV, proving that the house, consolation, and desirability sought by households may very well be delivered in a purely electrical package deal.

Only a 12 months earlier than that, the corporate despatched a jolt by means of the efficiency world with the Kia EV6 GT, profitable World Efficiency Automotive. Usually put aside for the confirmed, gas-guzzling thoroughbred muscle vehicles, the win shattered long-held perceptions. The judges identified the EV6 GT’s “breathtaking acceleration and dynamic dealing with,” as the way forward for high-performance automobiles. “It was not simply electrical, however electrifyingly enjoyable,” stated one decide in an after-event social media submit.

The EV6 GT was a transparent sign that Kia wasn’t simply constructing EVs for practicality, however for ardour as properly.

Kia’s electrification technique appears to be working. Known as “Plan S,” it’s a large, top-down push into electrification led by the Electrical-International Modular Platform (E-GMP). This EV structure is the key sauce behind the EV6, EV9, and now the EV3, permitting for flat flooring, spacious interiors, ultra-fast charging, and spectacular vary. The subsequent steps embrace sooner charging and a transparent end-of-life plan for batteries.

Apparently, its cousin, the Hyundai Inster (a.ok.a Casper within the Philippines and different markets) received the World Electrical Automotive of the Yr award.

One may say the Telluride win was like a commencement ceremony for Kia’s inside combustion efforts. Ever since then, the model has been on an all-electric honor roll.