Recognising Excellence Across the Global Automotive Ecosystem
The IAF Awards celebrate organisations and teams that set new benchmarks for technology, user experience, environmental responsibility, safety performance, supply-chain excellence and societal impact.
Awards Process & Governance
These pages explain how the IAF Automotive Awards work — from eligibility and entry requirements to evaluation criteria, jury review and key dates.
How to Apply
Step-by-step entry guidance, what to submit, recommended evidence packs, and common pitfalls to avoid.
OpenEvaluation Framework
Transparent scoring principles, comparable criteria across categories, and what “excellent evidence” looks like.
OpenJury & Process
Independent panels, conflict-of-interest safeguards, review stages, and governance principles.
OpenTimeline
Annual milestones from the call for entries to shortlisting, finalist review and the awards ceremony.
OpenEntry Rules (What can be submitted?)
An entry may represent a company, a factory/site, a brand programme, a product line, or a specific project team — as long as the impact and evidence are clearly defined.
- Authorised representative submissions only (no third-party nominations)
- One entry is submitted to one primary category.
- The same organisation may submit multiple entries (e.g., different brands, plants, or projects).
- Each entry should include its own impact summary and evidence pack.
- Entries must be submitted by an authorised representative of the applicant organisation.
Participation Fees & Optional Verification
The IAF World Automotive Awards are evaluated through an evidence-based review process. In some cases, additional verification may be proposed after submission to ensure comparability and integrity across shortlisted entries.
Award Categories
Each category is reviewed by discipline-specific juries using evidence-based scoring.
Innovation & Technology Award
Breakthroughs in electrified, hybrid and autonomous systems; software excellence, cybersecurity posture, OTA lifecycle maturity.
Design Excellence Award
Outstanding aesthetics and user experience; sustainable materials, ergonomics, and human-centred HMI solutions.
Sustainability & Green Mobility Award
Carbon reduction strategies, circularity and recycling, green manufacturing and measurable lifecycle improvements.
Quality & Safety Leadership Award
Excellence in safety performance and quality systems; achievements in testing, validation and continuous improvement.
Future Mobility Award
Contributions to smart cities, integrated mobility, connected vehicles and secure data ecosystems.
Supplier Excellence Award
Reliability, quality and sustainability in the supply chain; breakthrough contributions by SMEs and mid-tier vendors.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Award
Fair labour, ethics and community impact; education, equality and long-term social value creation.
Start-up & Entrepreneurship Award
High-potential young companies delivering scalable innovation in mobility, energy, software or services.
Evaluation Criteria
Transparent, comparable and evidence-based scoring across categories.
Innovation
Originality and measurable contribution to the state of the art.
Feasibility & Scalability
Readiness for real deployment, manufacturability, maintainability and scale-up potential.
Impact
Benefits for users, industry and society—safety, access, efficiency and trust outcomes.
Sustainability
Lifecycle performance, circularity, and responsible environmental stewardship.
Compliance & Standards Alignment
Alignment with recognised standards and responsible engineering practices.
Performance & Reliability
Measured safety, quality and durability indicators under realistic conditions.
Application Process
Entries are reviewed through a structured, evidence-based workflow designed to ensure comparability, impartiality and global relevance across categories.
- Submit an entry by an authorised representative, including a clear impact summary and evidence.
- Eligibility screening by the Secretariat for completeness and category fit.
- Jury evaluation with rubric-based scoring and shortlisting.
- Final evidence review and (where applicable) finalist Q&A or presentations.
- Approval & publication of winners and recognised finalists.
Indicative Timeline
- Call for EntriesJan–May
- Jury ReviewJune–Aug
- Finalists AnnouncedSept
- CeremonyOct-Nov (rotating host city)
Jury & Governance
Independent juries drawn from industry and academia, with documented conflict-of-interest safeguards and clear evaluation stages.
Jury & Process Details