The Kia EV3 has taken the top spot in the 2025 World Car Awards.

This is the second consecutive World Car of the Year win for Kia

The electric crossover was chosen from an initial list of 52 global contenders and fended off competition from two other finalists in the form of the BMW X3, the Hyundai Inster / Casper Electric.

The news was revealed during a live announcement at the World Car Awards ceremony at the 2025 New York International Auto Show.

The EV3, which also took the 2025 UK Car of the Year title, was selected by a jury of 96 international automotive journalists from 30 nations.

Ho Sung Song, president and CEO at Kia, said: “It is an immense honour for everyone at Kia that the EV3 has been awarded the 2025 World Car of 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.

This is the second consecutive World Car of the Year win for Kia and third World Car of the Year win overall. The Kia EV9 won last year’s top honour while the Kia Telluride won the title in 2020. The latest win brings the total number of awards won by Kia to six in World Car’s 21-year history