"2026 Korea's Car of the Year"..Hyundai Motor Company's Ioniq 9 and 2 gold medals exploded in double celebration

*This content was translated by AI.

Hyundai Motor's Ioniq 9 was finally selected as the "2026 Korea Car of the Year" by the Korea Automobile Journalists Association (AWAK).

The Korea Automobile Journalists Association (Chairman Kang Hee-soo, OSEN) announced on the 5th that it held the "2026 Korea Car of the Year" award ceremony at Crest 72 in Jangchung-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul on the 4th and selected Hyundai Motor's Ioniq 9 as the car of the year.

The association selected the Ioniq 9 as the car of the year with a total score of 6611.4 points after three verifications, including basic screening, real-vehicle testing, and king voting, for new cars delivered to customers in 2025. The Ioniq 9 also won two awards by category, including being named as this year's electric SUV.

The Ioniq 9 was evaluated as clarifying the standards that large electric SUVs should aim for with ample mileage and relaxed space. At the same time, the circuit test showed off the driving performance of the foot, showing stable behavior that forgets the size of the body and driving completion that exceeded expectations. In addition, it achieved the highest grade in the world's leading new car evaluation such as KNCAP, ENCAP, and IIHS, and proved its safety.

Yoon Hyo-joon, head of Hyundai Motor's domestic business division, said, "The Ioniq 9 is Hyundai's flagship electric vehicle, which contains a wide and comfortable interior space, the highest level of safety, convenience specifications and stability in a balanced way. We promise that Hyundai Motor will continue to prioritize quality, safety, and customer experience."

The winners in each category include △ Internal combustion engine sedan Audi A5 of the year △ Internal combustion engine SUV Volkswagen Atlas of the year △ Hybrid sedan Volvo S90 of the year △ Hybrid SUV of the year Hyundai Motor Palisade Hybrid △ Electric sedan Kia EV4 of the year △ Electric SUV of the year Hyundai Ioniq 9 △ Electric crossover Renault Senic E-Tech 100% electric of the year △ Kia Tasman of the year △ MPV Kia PV5 of the year △ Luxury car of the year Maserati Gran Turismo △ Performance of the year Hyundai Ioniq 6 N △ Design of the year Peugeot 3008.

In addition, △Hyundai Motor Group Pleos Fleet △GM Super Cruise △ Tesla FSD received a tie and shared the award in this year's soft tech category.

Hyundai Motor Company's N Management Director Park Joon-woo was selected as this year's Person of the Year. Managing director Park is a person who has led the N brand and led Hyundai Motor's challenge to high-performance cars to practical results. It is said that it has also contributed to Hyundai's flexible organizational culture by participating in the Goodwood Festival of Speed, collaborating with "Drift King" Tsuchiya Keichi, and opening the brand experience space N archive, and earning the nickname "N Verge" among enthusiasts.

"I want to share this honor with the team members, the laboratory who worked hard and many people who worked in invisible places," Park said in his acceptance speech. "I really wanted to make a fun car that would not be boring every moment, but I would like to thank Chairman Chung Eui-sun, Vice Chairman Jang Jae-hoon, and Director Manfred Hagi for willingly giving up such an opportunity."

Breaking away from the practice of selecting this year's person of the year centered on the top management, the association made an unconventional choice this time to choose a working-level official who has made brands and products on the spot as the winner. In the future, the association will continue to discover cases that silently make changes in the industrial field and actively inform them.

Meanwhile, the Korea Automobile Journalists Association selected Kia K9-Lexus New ES in 2013, Mercedes-Benz S Class in 2014, Infinity Q50 in 2015, Hyundai Avante in 2016, Renault Samsung Motors SM6 in 2017, Kia Stinger in 2018, Hyundai Motor Palisade in 2019, Kia's new K5 in 2020, Genesis G80 in 2021, Hyundai EV6 in 2022, Hyundai Motor's Ioniq 5N in 2024, and Kia EV3 in 2025, respectively, as the "Korea's Car of the Year."

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*This content was translated by AI.