World Car of the Year: The winners of 2020

The annual World Car Awards are the holy grail of the automotive world. So it is given that they don’t lack in presenting an illustrious jury. The judges include members from 24 countries and the Auto Today editor Yogendra Pratap. There are five categories – World Car of the Year, World Urban Car, World Luxury Car, World Performance Car, and World Car Design of the Year. It officially began in February with 10 finalists for the WCOTY award and 5 per category for the rest.

Kia Telluride wins the esteemed WCOTY 2020:

The Kia Telluride was picked from the former list of entrants — 29 vehicles from all over the world. This SUV model triumphed over the Mazda 3 and the Mazda CX-30 to win the much sought after WCOTY 2020 award. 

Thomas Schemera, the executive vice president and head of product division at Kia Motors Corporation commented that winning this coveted competition just goes to prove what an outstanding vehicle Telluride is. This win serves as a testament to the skills and efforts of the team. He also said that they will continue to strive to create desirable, high-quality, and practical cars that drivers love.

Porsche Taycan wins the award in Luxury and performance car categories:

Taycan won Porsche its first World Luxury Car Award. It left behind the Porsche 911 and the Mercedes-Benz EQC. The all-electric Porsche Taycan serves one clear purpose: To showcase that even an electric car could provide everything that characterizes a Porsche, from performance to comfort. Furthermore, the Porsche Taycan was also declared as the World Performance Car winner. This win is the sixth time for Porsche in the category having previously won the award in 2017, 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2006. 

Kia Soul EV wins in Urban car category:

Kia won two out of the five categories this year. The Telluride has been deemed as the WCOTY award whereas the Soul EV took home the World Urban Car award. Other than the KIA entries, winners in these 3/5 categories were electric cars. The Mini Electric and the Volkswagen T-Cross were defeated in this war of the best urban car this year.

Mazda 3 is the winner for world car design of the year:

Mazda 3 sure looks drop-dead gorgeous, doesn’t she? This hatchback took home the Design of the Year award with it. The three top cars in this category were the Mazda 3, the Peugeot 208, and the Porsche Taycan. The review of each candidate was done by a design panel comprised of seven design experts. Then recommendations from the members of all countries were taken to make the decision. 

All of this happened virtually amidst the lockdown. All of the decisions were a digital affair due to the global shut down. But all of the winners are deserving nonetheless.