EXCLUSIVE LEAD SPONSOR
Double click to change color
Double click to change color
Double click to change color
PACE AWARD
Honoring Automotive Ingenuity
Recognized worldwide, the PACE Award celebrates innovations that redefine industry standards. If your innovation has been sold to a customer, join us in honoring the innovators driving automotive innovation forward.
Open to automotive suppliers, including traditional, non-traditional, and start-ups. To qualify, the innovation should be commercialized and sold to an OEM company, or have a contracted production date in the near future.
Once selected, finalists will be notified in July 2026 and announced in Automotive News print and online issues.
Double click to change color
PACE PILOT
Igniting Future Innovations
Designed for pre-commercialized innovations, PACE Pilot offers a gateway to transforming automotive and future mobility landscapes. Join fellow innovators as we pave the way into the next generation of automotive technology.
Open to early-stage innovations not yet sold to an OEM customer. To qualify, suppliers, including startups, must have reached a working pilot demonstration phase but are not yet commercialized with a contracted sale.
Once selected, finalists will be notified in July 2026 and announced in Automotive News print and online issues.
2026 TIMELINE
Applications open: October 13, 2025
Applications close: February 9, 2026, at 11:59 PM EST.
PACE Award In-Person Site Visit Schedule: April 1 - June 30, 2026
PACE Pilot Virtual Pitch Session Schedule: April 1 - June 30, 2026
2026 PACE Award and PACE Pilot Finalists Announcement: July 27, 2026
PRICING
PACE Award application fee: $2,900 USD
- Disclaimer: Automotive News holds the right to charge an additional fee to PACE Award applicants that hold their site visits in countries that may be more difficult to travel to by the PACE Judges.
PACE Pilot application fee: $1,050 USD
Application extension fee: $500 USD
CRITERIA
Eligibility
Suppliers that contribute products, processes, materials, or services directly to the manufacture of cars or trucks are eligible to apply.
Requirements
For PACE Award, applications are open to global automotive suppliers that have created an innovation or technology for commercialization within the automotive industry. To participate in the PACE Award program, the applicant will be asked to:
- Complete a PACE Award application by the deadline.
- Submit payment by the deadline.
- If selected as a site visit candidate, host an In-Person Site Visit for the judges. To learn more about site visits, click here.
For PACE Pilot, applications are open to global automotive suppliers or tech/mobility companies that have reached a working pilot demonstration phase but are not yet commercialized with a contracted sale. To participate in the PACE Pilot program, the applicant will be asked to:
- Complete a PACE Pilot application by the deadline.
- Submit payment by the deadline.
- If selected as a pitch session candidate, host a Virtual Pitch Session for the judges. To learn more about pitch sessions, click here.
All information included should be publishable by the time winners are announced in November 2026. Any confidential information should be noted as “not for public,” “off the record” or “confidential.”
2026 Deadline
Applications open: October 13, 2025
Applications close: February 9, 2026
FAQs
This program is open to global automotive suppliers that have created or are creating an innovation or technology for commercialization within the automotive industry. Eligible to apply are suppliers or startups that contribute products, processes, materials, or services directly to a manufacturer of cars or trucks.
The cost to apply for PACE Award is $2,900 USD per application. The cost to apply for PACE Pilot is $1,050 USD per application. Upon request, an extension of one (1) additional week can be provided; please email Nuha Mosa for more information. All applications will incur an extension fee of $500 USD if they are submitted after February 9, 2026.
All submitted and paid applications will be reviewed and judged by an independent panel of PACE Judges with 100+ years of collective industry expertise. To learn more about the current panel of PACE Judges, please visit www.autonews.com/awards/pace/judges/.
This year's PACE Award application has been streamlined to allow the applicant more flexibility during the completion of their application. To view a sample PACE Award application, click here. There are no changes to the PACE Pilot application this year. To view a sample PACE Pilot application, click here.
PACE Award and PACE Pilot Finalists will be selected in July 2026, after the Site Visits and Pitch Sessions with PACE Judges have been completed.
PACE Award and PACE Pilot Finalists will be selected in July 2026, after the Site Visits and Pitch Sessions with PACE Judges have been completed.
The inclusion of quantitative data is vital to the judges' assessment of your innovation. You should mark sensitive materials "Confidential - for PACE Judges only" throughout your application where applicable. Anything that is marked as "confidential" or "not for public disclosure" will only be viewed in connection with the Automotive News PACE Program and the confidential evaluation, judging and program administration process.
All applicants must agree to and sign the Confidentiality Statement and Truth of Information Release included in the application, which reads as follows: "I understand that all the non-publicly available information contained herein shall be used only in connection with the Automotive News PACE Program and the confidential evaluation, judging and program administration process. No release of confidential company data will be made. In the event that my company is selected as a Finalist and/or Award Recipient, I acknowledge that I will be able to agree that certain information be disclosed as part of the awards program and other Automotive News PACE Program-related publicity efforts such as, but not limited to, press releases, video recordings, photographs, and magazine and newspaper articles. I have marked any sensitive information "Confidential" and understand that it will be kept strictly confidential and will be available to the Automotive News PACE Program judges for evaluation, judging and administrative purposes. The information provided and calculations made herein are accurate, true, and complete, and I understand that these will be relied upon in evaluating the application.”
All applicants must agree to and sign the Confidentiality Statement and Truth of Information Release included in the application, which reads as follows: "I understand that all the non-publicly available information contained herein shall be used only in connection with the Automotive News PACE Program and the confidential evaluation, judging and program administration process. No release of confidential company data will be made. In the event that my company is selected as a Finalist and/or Award Recipient, I acknowledge that I will be able to agree that certain information be disclosed as part of the awards program and other Automotive News PACE Program-related publicity efforts such as, but not limited to, press releases, video recordings, photographs, and magazine and newspaper articles. I have marked any sensitive information "Confidential" and understand that it will be kept strictly confidential and will be available to the Automotive News PACE Program judges for evaluation, judging and administrative purposes. The information provided and calculations made herein are accurate, true, and complete, and I understand that these will be relied upon in evaluating the application.”
Once you have submitted your application, you will not be able to log in to edit the form. If there is factual information that is incorrect or that has been updated, please contact the awards team to request a change.
Please note that changes to the application cannot be made once the final deadline has passed and judging has started. The awards team must be notified of any changes.
Please note that changes to the application cannot be made once the final deadline has passed and judging has started. The awards team must be notified of any changes.
Finalists will be notified via email and published on AutoNews.com in July 2026. Winners will be announced at the PACE Awards Ceremony and published on AutoNews.com and in an Automotive News print issue in November 2026.
Our awards team is here to help with any technical issues you might experience. Please email Nuha Mosa and include your application code in your email message.
Please note that your account on AutoNews.com is different from the account you create for the PACE program and any other award programs for Automotive News Group. When you click "Apply now" please make sure to register a new account (unless you have submitted to our awards before and already have one). If you still experience any issues logging in, please email Nuha Mosa at nuha.mosa@autonews.com.
Share