The Hyundai INSTER has been honored with the title of 2025 World Electric Vehicle, with the prestigious accolade announced on April 17 at the globally renowned 2025 World Car Awards ceremony, held during the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS).
This momentous achievement marks the fourth consecutive year that a model from Hyundai Motor Company has led one or more categories in the World Car Awards.
“The Hyundai INSTER has been a winner with customers since we introduced it. It’s very gratifying that the experts on the prestigious World Car Awards jurors feel the same way. The combination of compelling design, range, enjoyable driving characteristics, intuitive infotainment and technology that customers appreciate is emblematic of Hyundai’s approach of delivering exceptional value to our customers,” said José Muñoz, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company.
“The fact that our global portfolio is successful both commercially and critically speaks to the hard-working people throughout the Hyundai value chain who are delivering some of the best vehicles on the road today. Thank you to all the jurors for your service to this great industry,” he added.
A new benchmark in compact EV driving
INSTER has been designed to enhance driving enjoyment while maintaining the level of refinement and smooth driving characteristics EVs are known for. This has been achieved through a particular focus on INSTER’s ride and handling performance.
Compared with a conventional rubber bushing, Hyundai Motor’s engineers chose a more advanced hydro bushing for the INSTER’s electric motor body mount, improving ride quality and reducing vibration. Hydro bushing enhances vibration insulation by absorbing impact energy through the movement of fluid inside the system.
Compared with the CASPER model with internal combustion engine (ICE, available in Korea only), the all-electric INSTER’s body control and shock absorption capacity have been enhanced by upgrading to a high-performance shock absorber.
INSTER has also been engineered to enhance its competitiveness in terms of noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) to meet customer expectations for EV refinement. This has been achieved across various driving conditions, improving interior refinement.
The vehicle’s body has been enhanced through vibration analysis and optimization of the structure’s vibration dampening material to reduce low-frequency road noise. High-frequency road noise has been reduced by measures such as the application of double seals on both the front and rear doors, thicker front door glass, optimization of airflow around the headlamp strip and the application of a front underbody cover, also reducing drag.
High-speed driving comfort has been further enhanced through body reinforcements around the steering system mountings and optimizations to the internal steering damper. This is particularly noticeable with INSTER’s new steering wheel, which has been designed based on an analysis of steering wheel vibration characteristics.
