For a fourth consecutive year, the Car Design Event returned to Munich, once again turning the city’s Drivers & Business Club into one of the automotive industry’s most interesting rooms. What began as a niche, invitation-only gathering has quickly established itself as a valuable fixture for designers, journalists, suppliers, students and brand representatives who want something more focused than a conventional motor show.
Held from 2 to 4 March, this year’s event once again placed design, conversation and access at the centre of the programme. The formula remains one of its biggest strengths: rather than overwhelming attendees with scale, Car Design Event thrives on intimacy. The setting encourages the sort of exchange that is often lost elsewhere, whether that means a conversation with a chief designer, a closer look at a concept’s surfacing, or simply hearing how the people shaping future cars are thinking about creativity, storytelling and the role of AI in the design process.
The 2026 edition arrived with no shortage of headline acts. Among the most significant were the European debuts of the Genesis X Gran Equator Concept and the Mercedes-Benz Vision Iconic, both of which helped underline just how important these boutique gatherings have become for manufacturers looking to place design in the foreground. Equally notable was the appearance of the Lamborghini Manifesto, shown outside Sant’Agata for the first time, giving visitors a rare opportunity to study one of the company’s more provocative design statements at close quarters.
Volkswagen also used the event to unveil the ID.Polo interior, while other highlights included the Škoda Vision O, the Niels van Roij Design Breadvan Hommage, the SUE Concept by UE Studios, and an EDAG lighting prototype that showed how much design attention is now being given to the details that once sat lower down the priority list. The bike world also had a meaningful presence, with Novus Bike and Norton Motorcycles bringing fresh ideas and reminding attendees that mobility design conversation no longer begins and ends with cars.
The exhibitor and presenter list was broad and eclectic, featuring names including Alpine, Ducati, EDAG, Feadship, Genesis, Hyundai, Kia, Lamborghini, Mercedes-Benz, Pagani, Škoda and Volkswagen. Several other carmakers were also present via their senior design figures, reinforcing what has become one of CDE’s defining qualities: this is less about static display and more about the people behind the work.
That has always been the real appeal of Car Design Event. When I first attended in 2023, the novelty was in seeing car design treated not as a supporting topic, but as the entire reason for being there. By 2024, the event had already begun to feel more assured, drawing a broader mix of international media, designers and students, while widening the conversation around creativity, AI and the future of mobility. In 2026, that same spirit remains intact, but the event now feels more mature, more confident, and more relevant than ever.
Another important aspect of this year’s edition was its continued collaboration with design schools including Hochschule München, Hochschule Pforzheim and Hof University of Applied Sciences. That direct connection between students and industry leaders gives the event a welcome sense of purpose beyond product display. It is one thing to gather established names in a room; it is another to make sure the next generation is standing there with them, listening, asking questions, and building those early connections.
As the wider industry continues to wrestle with electrification, digitalisation and shifting consumer expectations, the value of design-led forums like this only grows. Cars may still be defined by performance figures, software and regulation, but events such as CDE serve as a useful reminder that emotion, proportion, materials and storytelling still matter enormously. In Munich, those subjects once again had a stage of their own.
For anyone with even a passing interest in how tomorrow’s cars, bikes and mobility objects are conceived, Car Design Event remains one of the most worthwhile invitations on the calendar.
