Design Excellence Award
Celebrating visionary achievements in automotive design that redefine aesthetics, ergonomics, and sustainability for the next generation of mobility.
The Design Excellence Award honours automotive designs that go beyond functionality—setting new benchmarks in user experience, safety, and sustainable innovation.
This category recognises the creativity and ingenuity of manufacturers, design studios, and innovators who are shaping the visual and practical identity of vehicles in the modern era.
From exterior styling to interior ergonomics and human–machine interaction, this award highlights projects that merge form, function, and responsibility.
Selection Criteria
- DE-01 Originality and coherence | 25%: A distinctive, resolved design with a clear relationship between intent and execution.
- DE-02 Usability, ergonomics and inclusion | 30%: Demonstrated ease of use, comfort, accessibility and inclusive design.
- DE-03 Functional safety and interaction quality | 20%: Safe, understandable and dependable interaction under representative conditions.
- DE-04 Material and lifecycle responsibility | 15%: Responsible material choices, durability, repairability and lifecycle thinking.
- DE-05 Execution and enduring value | 10%: Quality of delivery and potential to retain practical and cultural value.
Eligibility & Result Period
Eligible scope: Exterior and interior design; controls and interfaces; commercial or specialist vehicles; components, charging equipment, tools, service spaces and mobility experiences.
Admission requirement: A full-scale usable prototype, representative interactive demonstrator or released design is required. Renderings alone are insufficient.
Result period: The design must be new or substantially redesigned within the 24 months before the deadline.
Timeline
Opening, closing, evidence cutoff, review, appeal and announcement dates are stated only in the approved Season Notice.
Jury & Process
Three jurors complete preliminary scoring and five complete fresh final scoring. Category tie priorities are DE-02, then DE-03. No chair vote is used; an unresolved tie may result in no single winner.
Prepare a Complete Entry
Review the category pages and evidence requirements before a future season is authorised.