After knocking Tesla out of the top spot as the leading global EV maker, BYD has taken a place on the world stage by finishing as a top three finalist in two World Car Awards categories for the 2024 awards.
Announced at the Geneva International Motor Show, the BYD Seal landed a place among the top 3 finalists for World Car of the Year, aside the 2025 Volvo EX30 and 2024 Kia EV9. This is the second time that all 3 finalists are also electric vehicles.
BYD’s Dolphin also finished among the top three Word Urban Cars for 2024, as did the Volvo EX30. The third contender is the Lexus LBX.
But BYD isn’t the only Chinese automaker to have its vehicles named as World Car Awards finalists; China-based Geely, which owns Volvo, saw its Chinese-built EX30 named as a finalist in three categories: World Electric Car, World Urban Car and World Car of the Year.
A First For Chinese Carmakers
This is the first time that three Chinese vehicles have landed as a finalist for global automotive awards and for the first time, in the clear running to be named World Car of the Year. BYD’s models are sold in much of the world, including Europe, Asia and of course, China.
The company hopes to eventually sell models in the US and plans to build an assembly plant in Mexico to facilitate sales in Mexico, North and South America.
Cheaper Cars From China? Maybe — But Maybe Not
I drove two Chinese-built cars late last year: the MG One and the Omoda 05, both compact gas-powered crossovers. They were fine cars: Well made, well handling and composed of familiar touch screens, buttons shifters and consoles.
But with a price in the mid to high $20,000 range, not a bargain. Rather, were they for sale in the US, they would provide an alternative to a Nissan Altima or a Hyundai Elantra rather than a clear undercut. Much of this is due to the necessary equipment, safety standards and more that are required to be sold in much of the world, the US included.
Looking at the BYD Seal at the Geneva Motor Show, the car shows design ambition rather than corners cut. With prices in Europe equaling about $48,000 USD, the Seal, a compact crossover, is filled with leather seats, expansive screens and elegant design. Its battery powertrain promises about 350 miles of range and recharging time of as little as 37 minutes at a DC fast charger — not far off from other EVs for sale at about the same price in the US.
The Dolphin, while much smaller and with a comfortable but less luxe interior and 210 miles of driving range, is priced at about $38,000 USD — $10,000 more than the Nissan Leaf. Of course, prices can depend on taxes, tariffs and incentives in the country where a car is sold. But both BYD models, like the MG and Omoda, fit the competitive price structure of the US market.
Familiar Global Names Dominate the 2024 Finals
BMW, Mercedes, Hyundai and Kia produced vehicles for 2024 and 2025 that impressed the World Car Awards jury, 100 of the top automotive journalists across the globe. The top three in each category show the growing prowess of electric vehicles as performance and luxury cars, as well as passion-driven projects that break barriers, such as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N and, as the Ford finally began to sell in international markets, the Bronco.
In addition to World Car of the Year and World Urban Car categories, here are the other World Car Awards finalists for 2024:
World Luxury Car
- BMW 5 Series/i5
- Mercedes Benz E Class
- Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV
World Performance Car
World Electric Vehicle
- BMW i5
- Kia EV9
- Volvo EX30
World Car Design of the Year
The winners will be revealed at the kickoff of the New York Auto Show on March 27th at Manhattan’s Javits Center. And then we’ll see: Will Chinese carmakers finally take a place on the global automotive stage?