2020 World Car Design of the Year award goes to…

KUALA LUMPUR: World Car Awards is a pretty big deal in the auto industry, and so is its special recognition category, the 2020 World Car Design of the Year. This time it’s another Mazda to grab the award in the said category. Four years ago, Mazda MX-5 won it, and this time it’s the Mazda 3.

Mazda Motor Corporation, Representative Director, President, and CEO, Akira Marumoto said, “We are truly honored to be able to receive the World Car Design of the Year award in this special year marking the 100th anniversary of Mazda’s foundation.” He further added, “We will continue providing our customers with unique products, designs, technologies, and experiences.”

The top three finalists picked by the judges for the 2020 World Car Design of the Year included Mazda 3, Peugeot 208, and Porsche Taycan. And it seems like it was the Mazda 3’s Kodo Design that impressed the decision-makers the most.

Mazda 3 displays a more matured and refined version of the famous Kodo: Soul of Motion design theme. Company’s Executive Officer and GM for Design Division, Ikuo Maeda explains it as -

“To sum up what we mean by KODO Design, it’s about creating cars that embody the dynamic beauty of life—cars that visually suggest different expressions of this energy. In Japan, we feel that craftsmen inject life into what they make, so objects that receive the love and caring attention of these craftsmen have a vital force; a soul. As we are a Japanese car company, we believe that a form sincerely and painstakingly made by human hands gets a soul.”

He also added that Mazda is not just a car to take you from point A to point B, but it is more like a partner that the owner trust and it’ll inspire him as well.

It for the same reason that the automaker wants its cars to express the beauty of instantaneous motion seen in the living like the movement in animals in their natural habitat or the powerful moment when an archer releases the arrow to create the tense, muscular yet flowing lines.

All this has been applied in the design language of the latest Mazda 3, and has resulted in the creation of subtle undulations of shadows and light gliding over the car’s body, giving the convincing illusion of vitality.

Also, both the sedan and hatch models, despite sharing the same name, showcases distinct personalities. With the sedan being more elegant and the hatch more emotive.

Also Read: Peugeot wins the “Car of the Year” title for the sixth time in 2020