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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.
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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.
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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
Late submission 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.
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.
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
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.”
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