A Korean EV just won World Car of the Year (again) - did it deserve it?

The Kia EV3 was named best car in the world, with BYD, Hyundai, Volvo and Volkswagen other EV winners

The Kia EV3 all-electric family SUV has been named World Car of the Year at the New York Auto Show, beating fellow finalists the Hyundai Inster and BMW X3.

The EV3 follows the Kia EV9, 2024’s World Car of the Year, and marks the fourth consecutive Korean win in the World Car Awards.

The World Car of the Year, the Kia EV3 starts at £33,005 in the UK (Kia)

The EV3 starts at £33,005 in the UK with our pick being the £36,005 EV3 Air model, which with its 81.4kWh battery promises an exceptional range of 375 miles and charge at up to 128kW.

Commenting on the EV3’s win, Kia UK President and CEO Paul Philpott said: “This is fantastic recognition for our latest EV and for Kia, especially as we entered the 2025 World Car Awards as reigning champions from 2024.

“The EV3 has already proven to be very popular with customers in the UK and has received the highest form of praise from high profile media outlets and the UK Car of the Year jury. This achievement gives Kia a real badge of honour and supports our dealer partners as they guide customers to make their switch to electric.”

The Independent ’s Electric Vehicles Editor Steve Fowler with Kia's British Head of Exterior Design John Buckingham (The Independent)

With Kia’s dominance of World Car of the Year for the past two years and Hyundai winning it for the two years prior, what are the Koreans doing right and others doing wrong?

Looking at our reviews of the Kia EV3, Kia EV9, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Hyundai Ioniq 6 they’re all highly rated cars, but they stand out for a number of things.

They all offer surprising quality, rivalling more established names in the premium segment. They all lead on technology, whether that’s infotainment or advanced driver assistance systems. And the EV technology they all share is currently just about as good as it gets. They not only boast decent ranges (in the case of the EV3 you can’t go further in an EV for the same or similar money - a 375-mile range on a car costing £36,005 is outstanding), while the efficiency of electric Kias and Hyundais mean they get closer to the claimed ranges than many other EVs.

In short, yes, the Kia EV3 is very deserving of being World Car of the Year, which is why we rate it as our favourite EV, too.

Elsewhere at the World Car Awards, Chinese newcomer BYD took away two World Car Awards for the first time, with Executive Vice-President Stella Li in New York to collect her World Car Person of the Year trophy. The brand’s smallest and cheapest model, the BYD Dolphin Surf – set to go on sale in the UK in the next few months – won the World Urban Car Award for 2025, beating the Hyundai Inster and Mini Cooper Electric.

Hyundai, winners of the World Car title in 2022 and 2023, didn’t walk away empty handed. The Hyundai Inster took the World Electric Vehicle Award. The cute, all-electric city car is on sale in the UK from £23,505.

Volvo’s new EX90 all-electric seven-seat SUV took this year’s World Luxury Car Award, while the retro-futuristic Volkswagen ID. Buzz was named World Car Design of the Year.

The World Car Awards are now in their 21st year and are voted for by 96 jurors from across the world, with six UK jurors including The Independent EV Editor Steve Fowler. The Awards were presented at the New York Auto Show, which itself was celebrating 125 years this year.