Hyundai Motors has won a major award in India, which is expected to help the South Korean automaker expand its presence in the world’s third-largest car market.
Earlier this month, Hyundai’s compact sports utility vehicle (Hyundai Exter) won the country’s most prestigious automotive award, the 2024 Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY), while the all-electric IONIQ 5 crossover It won the Green Car Award in the ICOTY 2024 category.
“This award will have a big impact on local consumers’ decisions on new cars,” a Hyundai Motor official in Seoul said on Sunday.
The maker of the Verna (Accent) subcompact car has won eight ICOTY awards since 2008, the most of any car brand sold in India.
The ICOTY jury, made up of 18 domestic automotive journalists, selects the year’s winners based on evaluations of vehicle performance, safety, fuel efficiency, technology, cost performance, etc.
Ecstar, Ionic 5
Ecstar defeated rivals like Maruti Suzuki Jimmy, Honda Elevate and Toyota Innova Highcross. The IONIQ 5 competed against other EVs such as the BMW i7 and MG Comet EV to win the Green Car Award.
The Ecstar is gaining popularity in India as Hyundai has sold over 39,000 units of the affordable compact SUV in the market since it was launched in July.
The company, which is the second-largest automaker along with its Indian affiliate Kia Motors, has increased production of the model by about a third to 8,000 units per month.
Hyundai sold over 559,000 vehicles in India in the first 11 months of this year.
Write destination Nan Sebin binthere@hankyung.com
Jung Jeong-woo edited this article.