German auto industry insiders consider the "Golden Steering Wheel" award event, which the brand-new Kia Niro EV recently received, to be among the most prestigious in the country. The fully electric crossover, released earlier this year amid widespread praise, has won the "Golden Steering Wheel 2022" award for best compact SUV. Second place in the same category went to the Kia Sportage Plug-in Hybrid. The sweep demonstrates Kia's dominance in a very competitive market in Europe. The Volkswagen Taigo came in third.
The Kia EV6 GT, the high-performance variant of Kia's all-electric crossover, was recently released and received recognition from the judges at the "Golden Wheel 2022," where it placed second in the "mid-size luxury" category, behind the Nio ET7 and ahead of the Mercedes-Benz EQE.
The editorial staffs of the German periodicals "AUTO BILD" and "BILD am SONNTAG" nominated 47 new automobile models across seven categories, three of which were won by Kia: the Niro EV, Sportage Plug-in Hybrid, and Kia EV6 GT electric crossover. Then, their readers chose the top three cars in each category, and a group of 21 experts gave each car a thorough test at the DEKRA Lausitzring circuit in Germany to decide who won.
According to Jason Jeong, president of Kia Europe, "cars that are efficient, have a long-range, and look good are what Kia is adding to its growing lineup of electrified models." This year's "Golden Steering Wheel" celebrates the whole scope of our electrified product line, further establishing the company as an industry pioneer in this space. "We are thrilled that three of our most recent models were chosen as finalists in this year's awards because we are always thinking about the future of transportation."
