Kia Sportage, Optima Win International Design Competition

It looks like Kia’s new design philosophy is working—and it’s working quite well. The South Korean carmaker’s most recent models—the 2016 Kia Sportage compact SUV and 2016 Optima sedan—recently walked away with the 2016 Red Dot Awards, which are some of the most prestigious international product design awards in the business.

But that’s not all. Along with being honored with a Red Dot award, the 2016 Kia Optima also received a Best of the Best award. This award in particular is the competition’s highest distinction, and is only awarded to the most innovative designs in a category.

“Our international design team has every cause to be exceptionally proud of these most recent awards,” said Peter Schreyer, President and Chief Designer of Kia Motors Corporation and Hyundai Motor Group. “The first Red Dot Awards for the Kia Sportage and the Kia Optima were already great successes. It is a very special achievement to further develop a first-rate, prize-winning model so that the new design also convinces the expert jury of this globally respected and prestigious design competition.”

Both the previous generations of the Sportage and Optima received Red Dot awards in 2011 with the Optima also receiving a Best of the Best award then. Kia has been raking in these awards since the first-generation Kia Soul earned a Red Dot award in 2009. Since then, the brand’s design team has won a total of 15 Red Dot Awards. These most recent awards mean that, as of 2016, every model in the current Kia lineup has this prestigious design award.

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