On January 28th we will know who is there World Car Person of the Year 2025 i.e. the person who has made a significant contribution to the automotive industry during the previous calendar year. A jury of 96 international automotive journalists from 30 countries proposed the candidates and the World Car Steering Committee selected the final three.
The entire World Car jury will now vote by secret ballot and the voting results will be verified by KPMG and announced via World Car TV on Tuesday January 28th 2025. But who are the three finalists?
The three finalists for 2025
In alphabetical order the candidates for the World Car Person of the Year 2025 are: Ralph Gilles, Chief Design Officer of Stellantis; Simon Humphries, Chief Branding Officer of Toyota, and Stella Li, Executive Vice President of BYD.
Ralph Gilleshead of design at Stellantis, is a New Yorker who began his career at Chrysler in 1992 and today oversees design for Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Maserati and Fiat (for Latin America). In his role as Chief Design Officer of Stellantis, Gilles is a key member of Stellantis’ Global Top Executive Team and Global Diversity Council. “Throughout his career, Gilles has focused on promoting a more inclusive and harmonious working environment within the group,” the statement read.
Ralph Gilles, head of design at Stellantis
Photo by: Stellantis
Simon HumphriesToyota’s Chief Branding Officer, is an Englishman, a graduate of Leicester Polytechnic, who has worked as a designer since 1988 and joined Toyota in 1994. Since 2019 he has been head of global design at Toyota. “In his role as Chief Branding Officer, Humphries has defined a direction for the brand that takes into account the needs of the various global markets and the most disparate market segments – reads the press release on his election as a finalist -. This also includes the march of Toyota towards further electrification and various alliances with brands such as Suzuki, where shared platforms and cross-badged vehicles also represent large volumes.”
Simon Humphries, Chief Branding Officer di Toyota
Photo credit: Toyota
Stella LiExecutive Vice President of BYD, is and has been a key figure in the company’s rise since 1996. In less than 30 years, BYD has grown to become one of the largest automakers in the world and celebrated an impressive milestone in 2024 : its 10 millionth electric vehicle. “Under Li’s leadership, 2024 was a year of breakthrough results for BYD. His influence will continue to shape the global automotive industry and promote a greener future.”
All World Car Person of the Year awards
Previous recipients of the World Car Person of the Year have been:
– 2024 Adrian Newey, Chief Technical Officer di Red Bull Racing;
– 2023 SangYup Lee, Executive Vice President, Head of Hyundai and Genesis Global Design Center, Hyundai Motor Company;
– 2022 Luc Donckerwolke, Executive Vice President for design and Chief Creative Officer, Hyundai Motor Group;
– 2021 Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation;
– 2020 Carlos Tavares, CEO of PSA Group;
– 2019 Sergio Marchionne, CEO of FCA, president of CNH Industrial and president and CEO of Ferrari;
– 2018 Håkan Samuelsson, President and CEO of Volvo Car Group (inaugural winner).
Source: it.motor1.com
