The Kia Motors design team has swept the board yet again in the annual Red Dot Awards, picking up two ‘Red Dots’ for the outstanding product design of the Kia Soul EV and all-new Kia Sorento SUV.
The Red Dot Awards program is one of the most highly-respected international design competitions in the world, and celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2015. This year, the jury – made up of design experts from a range of industries – awarded a ‘Winner’ and ‘Honourable Mention’ distinction to the Kia Soul EV and Kia Sorento, respectively, in recognition of their exceptional design details.
Ever since receiving its first award at this internationally-recognised design competition in 2009, Kia’s design-oriented products have been successful every single year. In total, 13 Kia models have now won a Red Dot Award, in addition to many other design prizes.
These aren’t the first awards for the recently-launched Kia Soul and flagship new-generation Sorento, both of which have been awarded coveted iF Design Awards in 2014 and 2015 respectively. The Kia Soul – the sister model to the EV electric version – also received a Red Dot Award in 2014.
“Our international design teams have every reason to be proud of the honours we have won at the 2015 Red Dot Awards, which show just how successful they have been in mastering the different design challenges of these two models”, said Peter Schreyer, President and Chief Design Officer of the Kia Motors Corporation and the Hyundai Motor Company.
“The third generation of the Kia Sorento has a subtly altered character and has made a great leap forward in quality. The new model combines a classic SUV spirit with a premium look that is particularly noticeable in the interior.
“The cabin of the Kia Soul EV also features exceptional material and design quality. When designing this car, the aim was to grasp the specific challenges of an electric car as a fresh opportunity, and our design team has achieved this brilliantly.”
The ‘Red Dot Award: Product Design’ is the world’s biggest and most international product design competition. This year, 1,994 companies from 56 countries entered 4,925 new products for one of the highly coveted Red Dots.
The official presentation of the 2015 Red Dot Awards will take place on 29 June in Essen, Germany at the Aalto Theater, an opera house designed by Alvar Aalto.