Kia presented with prestigious award for EV9

Judges (from left) Nicole Wakelin, Sandy Myhre and Shereen Shabnam with Teckkoun Kim. Photo: WWCOTY

Three jury members of Women’s Worldwide Car of the Year were invited to South Korea to present the trophy to Kia for the EV9 winning the 2024 supreme award.

The Women’s Worldwide Car of the Year (WWCOTY) judges were Shereen Shabnam from UAE, USA’s Nicole Wakelin and honorary president Sandy Myhre (New Zealand) and they presented the trophy to Mr Teckkoun Kim, Head of Kia Design Next Group at the Busan International Mobility Show.

Mr Kim commented that the win will help the recognition of the EV9. 

“It gives another twist to customers when juries like yours recognise the EV9 because you are the experts and you know which EV or vehicle works for the consumer experience,” he said.

Myhre reiterated to AutoMuse the importance of the award for Kia.

New Zealand judge and honour president Sandy Myhre with eckkoun Kim.

“For Kia, the award meant a lot, they stressed that at every moment.  For us as WWCOTY representatives, it meant we had achieved a milestone. To be invited to Korea to present was a considerable step up in terms of our status worldwide,” she said.

The WWCOTY delegation was also interviewed for Kia’s official social media channels including YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. Excerpts from the interview will likely be used in a promotional video collaboration with Bloomberg Media and will be featured on their websites.

The judges were interviewed for television by Michael Choo of Kia Brand Communications, focusing on how Kia EV9 became the supreme winner of the WWCOTY award.

Myhre gave a short history of the awards and discussed how many jury members there are today.  She emphasised the rigorous process adopted by the voting system and said that the EV9 was a clear winner for 2024.

Shabnam discussed the various unique design aspects of the EV9 from the lowered hipline, which creates better vision from inside the car to the ‘star’ cluster headlights, another unique feature of the SUV.

Wakelin talked about the wheel design which, again, is unique and how the sporty spoke image produces an interesting geometric graphic on the surface of the wheel.

All three judges spoke of the significance of the WWCOTY Award and what it will mean to Kia customers around the world.