Kia EV3 named World Car of the Year 2025

The Kia EV3 has been named World Car of the Year 2025, following its victory as Best Medium SUV at the Fleet News Awards.

It was also named UK Car of the Year, earlier this year.

Kia was presented with the trophy during a live announcement at the World Car Awards ceremony at the 2025 New York International Auto Show.

The EV3 was chosen from an initial list of 52 contenders that met the entry criteria for the award. It was then shortlisted alongside the BMW X3 and the Hyundai Inster. A panel of 96 automotive journalists from 30 countries judged the awards.

“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,” said Ho Sung Song, president and CEO at Kia.

Read more about the Kia EV3 in our First Drive review.

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 EV3's win brings the total number of awards won by Kia to six in World Car’s 21-year history.

World Car of the Year Awards 2025 results:

• World Car of the Year: Kia EV3
• World Electric Vehicle: Hyundai Inster
• World Luxury Car: Volvo EX90
• World Performance Car: Porsche 911 GTS
• World Urban Car: BYD Seagull
• World Car Design of the Year: VW ID Buzz