- President and CEO Ho Sung Music awarded with Autocar’s highest accolade, the Issigonis Trophy, in recognition of his important contributions to the worldwide automotive trade
- Honored for positioning Kia on the forefront of electrification and steering the mobility trade towards a better future with new PBV imaginative and prescient
- Kia EV3 named as ‘Greatest Electrical Automotive’ by Autocar on account of its compelling area and practicality, fast charging velocity and convincing electrical vary
Kia Company (Kia) President and CEO Ho Sung Music has been honored with the celebrated Issigonis Trophy on the 2025 Autocar Awards.
Named after the legendary automotive designer and inventor Sir Alec Issigonis, the Trophy is Autocar’s most prestigious award. Offered yearly, it acknowledges people who’ve made a big contribution to the automotive trade by means of innovation, management and distinctive enterprise efficiency.
Mark Tisshaw, Editor of Autocar, commented, “We’re delighted to current Ho Sung Music with the Issigonis Trophy. We’ve been vastly impressed by the way in which Mr Music has led Kia and the success he has achieved for the corporate and its continued progress. He has championed nice design and improved branding and confronted the problem of electrification by making ever higher and ever extra fascinating automobiles which can be among the many trade’s perfect.”
On receiving the Issigonis Trophy, President Music remarked, “It’s a nice honor to obtain this 12 months’s Issigonis Trophy. I wish to specific my honest because of the Autocar crew for this recognition — not simply of me, however of the unimaginable Kia crew worldwide, whose dedication and perception in our mission proceed to drive the model ahead.”
He continued, “Our dedication stays clear. To design with intention, to steer with duty, and to proceed delivering experiences that encourage. We settle for it with gratitude — and vow to maintain pushing boundaries with goal.”
Kia underneath President Ho Sung Music’s management
Since his appointment as President of Kia in 2020, President Music has led a profitable transformation of the corporate. Underneath his management, Kia’s mid- to long-term ‘Plan S’ technique has progressively positioned the model as a worldwide chief in electrification and sustainable mobility options.
A key a part of this transformation has been the worldwide roll-out of Kia’s new model identification and the launch of an award-winning vary of hybrid and electrical automobiles. These embody the Kia EV9, named World Automotive of the 12 months in 2024, and the EV3, which was awarded each World Automotive of the 12 months and UK Automotive of the 12 months in 2025.
Kia has additionally taken a pioneering strategy to the industrial car market with its revolutionary Platform Past Car (PBV) technique, a core component of ‘Plan S’. In 2024, Kia unveiled its PBV idea vary at CES in Las Vegas and introduced the event of a devoted PBV manufacturing facility in Korea. Constructed for enterprise, Kia’s first devoted all electrical industrial car, the PV5, is deliberate to launch in international markets this 12 months. Kia plans to promote 250,000 PBVs globally in 2030.
Previous to turning into President and CEO of Kia, Mr. Music held a spread of management positions, together with Head of World Operations, President of Kia Motors Europe and Head of Kia Motors Company Export Planning Group.
All through this time, President Music has dropped at bear his intensive expertise throughout the automotive worth chain in addition to his experience in abroad operations, main Kia’s profitable transition all through a interval of great change within the international automotive trade.
Kia EV3 named ‘Greatest Electrical Automotive’
The Kia EV3 was additionally named ‘Greatest Electrical Automotive’ on the 2025 Autocar Awards. In an exceptionally aggressive class, it stood out not just for its spectacular 375-mile electrical vary and fast-charging functionality, but additionally for delivering that efficiency in a compact, fascinating and reasonably priced package deal.
“The EV3 is the standout addition to the reasonably priced electrical automobile ranks in 2025. It not solely extends the design enchantment of the assertion EV9 into the guts of the electrical automobile market, but additionally brings with it compelling area and practicality, spectacular fast charging velocity, glorious EV drivability and convincing electrical vary to the social gathering — all for an interesting worth,” stated Mark Tisshaw, Editor of Autocar.
He continued, “The EV3 is an electrical automobile prospects can afford and one that may actually work for them. It is a cracking all-rounder, and really convincing.”
Since its international debut final 12 months, the EV3 has continued to construct momentum in markets world wide. It has already acquired important worldwide recognition, together with the 2025 World Automotive of the 12 months and Purple Dot’s prestigious ‘Better of the Greatest’ award. Notably within the UK, the EV3 has seen distinctive success — turning into the best-selling EV within the UK retail market in Q1 and incomes the 2025 UK Automotive of the 12 months. These achievements observe within the footsteps of its bigger sibling, the EV9, which swept the identical awards in 2024.
President Music closed the night by remarking, “The Kia EV3 being named ‘Greatest Electrical Automotive’ on the 2025 Autocar Awards — together with its rising checklist of accolades — underscores Kia’s dedication to innovation. With our Platform Past Car (PBV) technique now underway, and a mannequin lineup quickly to span from the extremely anticipated EV2 all the way in which as much as the premium EV9, we’re effectively positioned to steer the worldwide shift to electrification.”
