Kia Motors said Tuesday its new sport utility vehicle targeted for North American market was named SUV of the year by an auto publication MotorTrend.

The magazine also chose Peter Schreyer, president and head of design management of Hyundai Motor Group as the “person of the year.” Kia is a sister company of Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s largest carmaker. 

Describing Telluride as a new flagship SUV that has raised Kia’s profile, the magazine said seven of its 11 judges who tested the driving performance, fuel efficiency, overall design, safety and other technological features gave it the thumbs up.

Telluride is the first Korean SUV brand to win the SUV of the Year Award. It competed against 41 vehicles with eight being shortlisted. The finalists included Audi e-tron, BMW X5, Lincoln Aviator, Mercedes-Benz’s GLS and Porsche Cayenne.

Assembled at Kia’s manufacturing plant in Georgia, US, Telluride is specifically targeted for the North American market. Since its launch in February, the company sold a total of 45,284 units of Telluride as of last month.

As for the Person of the Year Award, MotorTrend honored Schreyer, citing his design leadership that pursued new direction for Kia and Hyundai. The former designer for Volkswagen renowned for his work on Audi TT, has changed the perception of the Kia brand, and is still in charge of overseeing long-term design vision for the South Korean automaker, the magazine said.

The award was given to Sergio Machionne, former CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles last year and Mary Barra of General Motors in 2017.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)