CONTENDERS REVEALED FOR WORLD CAR PERSON OF THE YEAR 2025
TORONTO, Canada – Friday, January 10, 2025.- The WORLD CAR FINALS POWERED BY BREMBO has today announced the contenders for the prestigious World Car Person of the Year 2025.
In alphabetical order, the contenders are: Ralph Gilles, Chief Design Officer of Stellantis; Simon Humphries, Chief Branding Officer of Toyota; and Stella Li, Executive Vice-President of BYD.
Ralph Gilles, Chief Design Officer of Stellantis
The 55-year-old New York native began his career at Chrysler in 1992, at a time when the company was successfully beginning to make waves by blending new-style performance and innovation with forward- looking designs. He became chief designer in 2008 and even took on brand CEO roles. He oversees design at Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep®, Ram, Maserati and Fiat (for Latin America).
Many groundbreaking vehicles developed on his watch made their debuts last year. This includes the fully electric Jeep Wagoneer S and the stunning, decidedly American, new Dodge Charger, which comes in two- and four-door models and boasts both conventional and electric powertrain choices. The public also got a first glimpse of the next-generation Jeep Compass.
In his role as Chief Design Officer at Stellantis, Gilles is a key member of the global Top Executive Team and the Stellantis Global Diversity Council. Throughout his distinguished career, Gilles has focused on fostering a more inclusive and harmonious workplace at the group.
Simon Humphries, Chief Branding Officer of Toyota
For a long time, Toyota design was a mixed bag. But for the past few years – and especially in 2024 – the brand has earned a lot of respect for its daring, edgy, and, some would say, sexy design language. From the Crown and the CH-R to the new 9th generation Camry, and even the retro-futuristic Land Cruiser, Humphries has overseen a stunning comeback for Toyota design-wise, while also further refining the very successful Lexus portfolio.
The 57-year-old Brit, a Leicester Polytechnic graduate, has worked as a designer since 1988, joining Toyota in 1994. Since 2019, he has been Toyota’s head of global design.
Humphries overseas a direction for the brand in his role as Chief Branding Officer, in a way that it considers needs of various global markets and very varied market segments. This also includes Toyota’s march towards further electrification and its various alliances with brands such as Suzuki, where shared platforms and cross-badged vehicles also account for large volumes.
Stella Li, Executive Vice-President of BYD
As Executive Vice President and the global number two at BYD, Li has been a key figure in the company’s rise since 1996. BYD has grown into one of the world’s largest automakers in less than 30 years and in 2024, the company celebrated an impressive milestone: its 10-millionth new energy vehicle.
Li is the driving force behind BYD’s strategic planning and global expansion, which achieved new heights in 2024. Her vision drives both innovation and accessibility. A standout achievement is the brand-new high-speed electric motor in the BYD Sealion 7. This revolutionary motor, the world’s fastest mass- produced electric engine, combines powerful acceleration and top speeds with a single-speed transmission, reaching 23,000 RPM – outpacing even Formula 1 standards. BYD brings this cutting-edge technology to market at an affordable price, revolutionising accessibility.
Under Li’s leadership, 2024 was a year of groundbreaking achievements for BYD. Her influence will continue shaping the global automotive industry and advancing a greener future.
A jury of 96 distinguished international automotive journalists from 30 countries put forward contenders for World Car Person of the Year 2025 based on individuals who have made a significant contribution to the global automotive industry during the previous calendar year.
The World Car Steering Committee selected the final three contenders and the whole World Car jury will now vote by secret ballot on their choice for World Car Person of the Year 2025. The vote results will be verified by KPMG.
The winner of the World Car Person of the Year 2025 will be announced virtually via World Car TV on Tuesday, January 28th, 2025.
Previous World Car Person of the Year recipients were: Adrian Newey OBE, then CTO of Red Bull Racing and soon to join Aston Martin’s Formula One team (2024); SangYup Lee, Executive Vice President, Head of Hyundai and Genesis Global Design Center, Hyundai Motor Company (2023); Luc Donckerwolke, Executive Vice President for Design and Chief Creative Officer, Hyundai Motor Group (2022); Akio Toyoda, President and CEO, Toyota Motor Corporation (2021); Carlos Tavares, CEO of PSA Group (2020); the late Sergio Marchionne, CEO, FCA; Chairman, CNH Industrial; and Chairman and CEO, Ferrari (2019); and Håkan Samuelsson, President and CEO, Volvo Car Group (2018).
The World Car Person of the Year award is just one out of seven awards handed out as part of The Road to the World Car Awards – an annual journey that follows our international jurors as they test-drive, and vote on, the eligible vehicles for the awards’ season. The jurors’ road-test journey is captured virtually on World Car TV. The jurors provide viewers with reviews and commentary on the awards’ eligible vehicles in the six categories listed above.
The World Car Awards program would not be possible without the support of our official 20th Anniversary Partners: AITASTIC Research & Consult, BREMBO, the NEW YORK International Auto Show, KPMG and Newspress. Thank you to our partners.
Source: Brembo
Photograph and video: Brembo
