Kia President Song Ho-sung Wins British Auto Car's Highest Honor Award
Jun 25, 2025
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Kia announced on the 25th (local time) that President Song Ho-sung won the "2025 Autocar Awards" organized by British automobile magazine Autocar.
Autocar is the world's first automobile magazine published in 1895, and it is a medium with global influence through online and international editions in addition to British and American readers. Every year, Autocar selects and awards people and products who have achieved remarkable results in the global automobile industry.
The Higgins Trophy is the highest honor award of the Autocar Awards, named after the legendary automobile designer and engineer 'Alec Isigonis'.
※ Alexisiginis (1906-1988): the first 'Mini' model developer introduced by British Motor Corporation (BMC) in 1959. In 1969, in recognition of Minnie's success, he was given the title of 'Sir' by the Queen of England.
The major winners of the Yushinnis Trophy have led the global automobile industry, including MacLaren Chairman Ron Dennis in 2014, Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota in 2018, Daimler Chairman Dieter Zetsche in 2019, Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson in 2020, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun in 2021, and Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo in 2024 (based on his position at the time of the award).
Autocar Editor-in-Chief Mark Tisho "We are very happy to present the Ishinis Trophy to President Song Ho-sung. We are impressed with the way President Song has led hunger, the company's continued growth, and the success he has achieved"He led the way in great design and brand improvement, and he created the best and most attractive cars in the industry against the big challenge of electrification."
President Song Ho-sung said "It is a great honor to receive the Autocay Isiginis Award" and "I think this award is not the only power for me, but the result of the efforts of Kia teams around the world to increase brand value."," he said in his acceptance speech.
"In the future, we will continue to challenge limitations and continue to provide inspiring experiences with products and services beyond customer satisfaction based on Kia's vision of the future, Sustainable Mobility Solution Provider."
President Song Ho-sung has held various positions, including the head of global operations and the head of Kia's European subsidiary before taking office as president of Kia. Based on his extensive experience across the automobile industry and expertise in overseas business operations, he contributed to the successful change of Kia at a time when the global automobile industry is rapidly changing.
Since being appointed as Kia president in 2020, President Song Ho-sung has grown Kia into a global leader in electrification and sustainable mobility solutions through a mid- to long-term 'Plan S' strategy.
Under President Song Ho-sung's leadership, Kia has established its brand identity and been recognized for its competitiveness in the global market by launching a new EV lineup, including EV9, which won the World Car of the Year in 2024 and EV3, which won the World Car of the Year in 2025.
In addition, Kia introduced innovative strategies in the commercial vehicle market through purpose-based mobility (PBV). Kia plans to bring its first electric commercial vehicle PV5 to the global market this year and sell 250,000 PBVs by 2030.
, Kia EV3 was selected as the 'Best Electric Car' at the 2025 Auto Car Awards. ▲2025 World Car of the Year ▲2025 British Car of the Year EV3 is a compact SUV electric vehicle capable of driving up to 605 km on a single charge (based on European WLPT). EV3 was highly praised for its excellent mileage, fast charging performance, and reasonable price.
Automobile Editor Mark Tshaw commented that "EV3 is the most outstanding new vehicle among reasonably priced EVs released in 2025" and "EV9's design appeal has not only expanded to the center of the EV market, but is also attractive in every aspect, including its large space and practicality, impressive fast charging speed, excellent EV driving performance, and convincing EV driving distance."
The EV3 is a very convincing model that shows excellent completeness in many ways with electric vehicles that customers can actually purchase and are sufficiently satisfied in real life.'
EV3 continues to attract attention in global markets since its global launch last year. It was recognized for its global competitiveness by winning major international awards such as ▲2025 World Car of the Year ▲ 2025 Top Gear Electric Vehicle Awards. In particular, the UK won the British Tea of the Year in 2025.
President Ho-Sung Song commented, "The Kia EV3's selection as the "Best Electric Vehicle" at the 2025 Automobile Awards shows Kia's commitment to innovation" and "We will leap forward as a global leader in electrification through the ongoing PBV strategy and various lineups ranging from the upcoming EV2 to EV9"."
Editor Song Moon-cheol mc.song@carguy.kr
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
