Sonata model of the Korean carmaker Hyundai was awarded the prestigious International Car of the Year, awarded on the basis of emotional connection between car users and the extent to which producers meet their anticipated objectives.
The survey "International Car of the Year" (ICOTY) will be held every year from 1997 and onwards.
Winners are determined by journalists from as Kelley Blue Book, Consumer Guide Automotive, Yahoo! Autos, Auto Week, MSN Autos, Cars.com and others whose voices are subsequently processed by the world marketing information company J. D. Power and Associates.
Traditionally, the award was presented in one of the most prestigious auto shows in the world NAIAS-2011, which is currently taking place in Detroit.
Prior to the Hyundai Sonata was awarded the prestigious cars like the Ford Taurus (2010), Nissan GT-R (2009), Honda Accord (2008), Lexus LS 460 (2007), Dodge Charger (2006) and others.