Electric cars lead World Car Awards nominations

Kia EV3 and Hyundai Inster EVs lead the way with three nominations each; Chinese brand BYD gets its first nomination

The all-electric Kia EV3 is one of three contenders for the overall World Car of the Year Award (Kia)

Electric cars look set to dominate the World Car Awards again in 2025 with two of the three cars nominated for the overall World Car of the Year Award all-electric and the third available with petrol, diesel, plug-in hybrid or all-electric power.

Five of the past six overall World Car of the Year Award winners have been full EVs, with Korean brands dominating for the past three years. Kia’s EV9 won the title last year, with Hyundai’s Ioniq 6 and Ioniq 5 winning in 2023 and 2022. Volkswagen’s ID. 4 was the overall winner in 2021 with the Jaguar I-Pace winning in 2019.

Kia’s all-electric EV3 makes the shortlist, while another Korean-made EV, the Hyundai Inster, is also on the list. BMW’s X3 makes up the three-car shortlist.

Hyundai’s little Inster EV is a contender for three World Car Awards in 2025 (Hyundai)

The Kia and Hyundai are also up for the World Electric Vehicle Award along with the Porsche Macan, while the EV3 is also a contender for World Car Design of the Year along with the new Toyota Land Cruiser and all-electric Volkswagen ID. Buzz.

The Inster is also a contender for the World Urban Car Award, alongside the MINI Cooper Electric and the BYD Seagull/Dolphin Mini – the first time BYD has been nominated for a World Car award. This comes in the year that BYD executive Stella Li has already been named World Car Person of the Year

Contenders for the World Luxury Car Award include electric models with the Volvo EX90 and new Porsche Macan getting the nod, alongside another Porsche, the Panamera, which is available with plug-in hybrid power.

All-electric and plug-in hybrid power also gets a look in with the World Performance Car, with the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT, Porsche 911 Carrera GTS and the BMW M5 all nominated.

The 2025 World Car Awards winners will be revealed at the New York International Auto Show on Wednesday 16 April, marking the 20^th year of the announcement at the New York Show which itself celebrates a big anniversary.

Commenting on the upcoming announcement, Mark Schienberg, president of NYIAS said, “As the New York Auto Show marks an incredible 125 years, we’re thrilled to kick off the celebration with one of the industry’s most prestigious honours – the World Car Awards! Winning this award, judged by 96 of the world’s top automotive journalists, is a true triumph and the perfect way to launch North America’s first and most-attended auto show. A huge congratulations to the World Car team for over two decades of excellence, and best of luck to this year’s outstanding finalists!”