Kia EV9 named 2024 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year

Kia's EV9 SUV [KIA]

The Kia EV9 SUV was named the North American Utility Vehicle of the Year by the North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year awards, also known as the Nactoy.

The Korean automaker said it marks the third time in five years that the Nactoy jury named a Kia vehicle its top choice in the category after the Telluride in 2020 and EV6 in 2023. It is also the second win for a Kia EV.

The selection was made by 50 professional automotive journalists from various print, online, radio, and television media outlets in the United States and Canada. As part of the evaluation process, Nactoy jurors tested vehicles under various criteria, including automotive innovation, design, safety features, performance, technology, driver satisfaction, user experience and value.

Finalists competing for the category were Hyundai Motor's Kona and the Genesis Electrified GV70.

Founded in 1994, the Nactoy Award is a prominent auto award. It started with two categories — passenger cars and trucks — before adding a utility vehicle category in 2017.

“The Kia EV9 represents a new paradigm in the three-row SUV segment,” said Yoon Seung-kyu, CEO of Kia North America and Kia America.

“For the second consecutive year, the three finalists have been EVs or included EVs as part of a larger lineup, which illustrates where the segment is headed. This win proves that EV9 is not only a top utility vehicle, but also an exemplary EV.”

Introduced last year, the EV9 three-row SUV comes with 99.8 kilowatt-hours of battery that can run 304 miles per single charge, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The U.S. sticker MSRP starts from $54,900.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]