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The panel of 100 jurors from 32 countries of the World Car Awards has spoken, declaring SangYup Lee, the Executive Vice President and Head of Hyundai and Genesis Global Design Center, the 2023 World Person of the Year.
In order to be eligible for the prestigious award, candidates had to seriously contribute to the global automotive industry, with repercussions spreading from January 1 to December 31, 2022. The actions must have significantly impacted the respective automaker, with World Car Awards speaking of “significant safety, engineering, design or technical advancement, or other significant benefit for the customer.”
SangYup Lee was chosen among the five finalists because of his designs applied to studies and production cars showcased last year. Here, the jurors mention vehicles such as the new-gen Kona subcompact crossover, the Ioniq 6 zero-emission model that recently launched in the United States, and the stunning N Vision 74 Concept. An homage to the 1974 Hyundai Pony Coupe, designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the latter was presented to the world last summer as a retro-futuristic model packing a hybrid hydrogen powertrain, mixing a fuel cell and a battery-electric drive system.
Besides these cars, SangYup Lee also left his mark on others from different brands. For instance, together with Luc Donckerwolke, he signed the Bentley Bentayga and the EXP 10 Speed 6 Concept. He also designed the fifth-generation Camaro and the Stingray Corvette Concept from 2009. In 2003 and 2004, the current Hyundai and Genesis Executive VP of Global Design, who has held this position since late 2021, replacing Peter Schreyer, styled the Cadillac Sixteen and the Buick Velite show cars respectively. He is also responsible for other cars, including the Bentley Continental GT and Flying Spur.
Other candidates in the 2023 World Car Person of the Year category, in addition to Hyundai’s design guru, were the President and Chairman of BYD, Wang Chuanfu, and BMW Group’s Research Engineer Open Innovations, Dr. Stella Clarke. Lucid’s CEO and CTO, Peter Rawlinson, and Toyota’s Chief Engineer for the GR Corolla, Naoyuki Sakamoto, were also among the finalists.
Lee’s achievement represents two consecutive wins for Hyundai in this category, after Luc Donckerwolke, Executive Vice President for Design and Chief Creative Officer, won this award last year. Some of Donckerwolke’s previous work includes the Lamborghini Diablo, Gallardo, and Murcielago, as well as the Bentley Flying Spur, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, and Genesis GV60. Donckerwolke was declared the big winner from the finalists comprising Netflix’s Drive to Survive James Gay-Rees and Paul Martin, GM’s Corvette Executive Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter, Ford F-150 Lightning’s Chief Engineer Linda Zhang, and Tata’s Managing Director for Passenger Vehicle Business Shailesh Chandra. Toyota’s President and CEO, Akio Toyoda, PSA’s Carlos Tavares, and the late Sergio Marchionne (FCA) won this award in 2021, 2020, and 2019 respectively.
SangYup Lee was chosen among the five finalists because of his designs applied to studies and production cars showcased last year. Here, the jurors mention vehicles such as the new-gen Kona subcompact crossover, the Ioniq 6 zero-emission model that recently launched in the United States, and the stunning N Vision 74 Concept. An homage to the 1974 Hyundai Pony Coupe, designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the latter was presented to the world last summer as a retro-futuristic model packing a hybrid hydrogen powertrain, mixing a fuel cell and a battery-electric drive system.
Besides these cars, SangYup Lee also left his mark on others from different brands. For instance, together with Luc Donckerwolke, he signed the Bentley Bentayga and the EXP 10 Speed 6 Concept. He also designed the fifth-generation Camaro and the Stingray Corvette Concept from 2009. In 2003 and 2004, the current Hyundai and Genesis Executive VP of Global Design, who has held this position since late 2021, replacing Peter Schreyer, styled the Cadillac Sixteen and the Buick Velite show cars respectively. He is also responsible for other cars, including the Bentley Continental GT and Flying Spur.
Other candidates in the 2023 World Car Person of the Year category, in addition to Hyundai’s design guru, were the President and Chairman of BYD, Wang Chuanfu, and BMW Group’s Research Engineer Open Innovations, Dr. Stella Clarke. Lucid’s CEO and CTO, Peter Rawlinson, and Toyota’s Chief Engineer for the GR Corolla, Naoyuki Sakamoto, were also among the finalists.
Lee’s achievement represents two consecutive wins for Hyundai in this category, after Luc Donckerwolke, Executive Vice President for Design and Chief Creative Officer, won this award last year. Some of Donckerwolke’s previous work includes the Lamborghini Diablo, Gallardo, and Murcielago, as well as the Bentley Flying Spur, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, and Genesis GV60. Donckerwolke was declared the big winner from the finalists comprising Netflix’s Drive to Survive James Gay-Rees and Paul Martin, GM’s Corvette Executive Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter, Ford F-150 Lightning’s Chief Engineer Linda Zhang, and Tata’s Managing Director for Passenger Vehicle Business Shailesh Chandra. Toyota’s President and CEO, Akio Toyoda, PSA’s Carlos Tavares, and the late Sergio Marchionne (FCA) won this award in 2021, 2020, and 2019 respectively.
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