November 25, 2024

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Kia’s large-sized full-electric sport utility vehicle, the EV9 (Kia)

Hyundai Motor Company’s smaller sibling Kia’s large-sized full-electric sport utility vehicle, the EV9, won the 2024 North American Utility of the Year award, the company said Friday.

The North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year Awards was held at the city of Pontiac in Michigan on Thursday.

This is the third time Kia has won the top SUV honor, after its midsized SUV Telluride and battery-powered crossover SUV EV6 each won the title in 2020 and 2023, respectively.

One member of the judging panel, consisting of 50 automotive journalists from the US and Canada, said in a statement, “Kia is rapidly moving upscale with head-turning design and all the latest technology at prices below (those of) premium brands. That’s a recipe for success.”

Adding Kia’s EV9 to the award winner list, Hyundai Motor Group’s cars have won awards five times in the last six years since 2009, including Hyundai’s premium brand Genesis BH and G70, Hyundai’s Avante and Kona.

The company said that Hyundai, Kia and Genesis have claimed the top spot as a Korean car brand in the US, one of the most competitive global markets.

“The EV9 has introduced a new paradigm for three-row large-sized SUVs and is garnering traction from customers in North America,” said a Kia official. “Winning the North American Utility of the Year award, the EV9 sets an example for SUVs and battery-electric vehicles. We expect the car to keep on recording outstanding achievements (in global markets.)”

All of the SUV finalists this year were from the Korean carmaker, including the Genesis Electrified GV70 and Hyundai’s Kona and Kona EV.

Aside from the EV9, Toyota’s Prius hybrid won the car award and Ford’s Super Duty pickup was honored with the top truck title for 2024.

The North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year Awards, founded in 1994, is an annual event that selects three cars of the year. In addition to the two top car and truck awards, it created a new category for the best SUV in 2017.

The EV9 also won the German Car of the Year 2024 award in the luxury class category, two titles -- Best Premium SUV and Best SUV Interior -- at the Newsweek Autos Awards 2023, at the Golden Steering Wheel Awards 2023 in the family car category and at the Family Car of the Year at Top Gear Awards 2023.

Running on Hyundai Motor Group’s electric vehicle platform E-GMP, the EV9 adopts a 99.8 kilowatt-hours battery that can drive up to 501 kilometers on a single charge. It boasts 400-volt and 800-volt ultra-fast charging systems and vehicle-to-load technology which use the car’s stored energy to power the dead batteries of external devices.

It is also one of the key software-defined vehicle models that can operate and enhance functions via software updates.

By Byun Hye-jin (hyejin2@heraldcorp.com)