Kia Extends Winning Streak And Takes Home Four Prizes At The Annual Russian Car Of The Year Awards

Kia Motors has won a staggering four prizes at the annual Car of the Year Russia awards, with wins for the Kia Picanto, Ceed, Seltos and Stinger. 

This adds to Kia’s impressive award-winning streak in 2020 which includes two accolades at the 2020 World Car Awards, as well as a major design prize at the Red Dot Design Awards. 

Kia’s four wins were based on votes cast online by customers over a number of months. This year’s awards impressively received more than one and a half million votes.

The compact city Kia Picanto set a new record for the company, taking honors in the ‘Best City Car’ category for the fifth consecutive year in the most prestigious automotive award ceremony on the Russian calendar. The Kia Ceed built on its victory last year, branching out from ‘New Product of the Year’, to triumph in the ‘Small middle class’ category. The Kia Seltos took home gold in the ‘Compact SUV’ category, while the brand’s first ever gran turismo model — the Stinger — was named best ‘Grand Tourer’.

The Kia Picanto, Kia Seltos, and Kia Stinger models are available across the Middle East and the Kia Ceed in select markets only.

“The Kia brand has grown in popularity in Russia for many years, and we are extremely proud to have won four awards in the annual Russian Car of the Year contest as a result,” said Ho-sung Song, President and CEO of Kia Motors Corporation. "For Kia globally, Russia is one of our most important markets. We have worked hard to be the number one import brand with a 13 percent market share in Russia, and aim to continue our growth in the market in years to come. These four awards are extremely gratifying not only for Kia Motors Russia, but for Kia Motors globally.”

Mr. Yaser Shabsogh, Chief Operating Officer, Regional HQs, Middle East & Africa, commented: “We’re delighted for our Russia team and ecstatic to receive such notable accreditations that have been voted by customers. With our unique and modern, high-quality, well-equipped and visually appealing models, it’s no surprise we’re a firm favourite among Russian automotive buyers.”

The Kia Picanto compact hatchback retains its position as class favorite thanks to its striking design, spacious interior, interesting character and high levels of standard equipment. This is the second consecutive generation of Picanto to win the hard-fought ‘City Car’ category.

Winner of the ‘Small middle class’ category, the Kia Ceed is one of the most technically advanced cars in its segment. The Ceed family now provides the most diverse offering in the C-segment in Russia. As well as the standard five-door hatchback, the range also includes the Ceed Sportswagon, ProCeed shooting brake and the XCeed urban crossover.

The Kia Stinger confidently entered the highly competitive gran turismo segment, where the most prestigious brands are already well represented. Kia Motors recently announced an update to the Kia Stinger, improving it yet further with a number of changes which amplify the car’s gran turismo character, while also improving cabin quality and giving owners more choice of colors and materials.

Kia for the sixth consecutive year has been ranked as the number one mass market automotive brand by the Automotive Quality survey, J.D. Power.