Call for proposals - Overview of key questions for the Volkswagen Group Hubs @IZB2026
The call for proposals is now open exclusively to IZB exhibitors and start-ups. It facilitates targeted matching between the Volkswagen Group's current challenges and your innovative solutions.
Here you will find the key questions from the five Volkswagen Group Hubs at IZB 2026. Submit your innovative solutions to the Volkswagen Group’s current challenges and get involved now!
1. Interior & Exterior
How can we implement sustainability and inspiring design in the brands?
- How can we implement mono-material, single-origin concepts and recyclability without losing design freedom, value and brand differentiation?
- How can we secure the necessary capacities for a reliable material base for our future vehicles through circular economy and cross-brand plastics pooling – without restricting paintability, transparency or design freedom?
2. Electronics & Connectivity
- Present a concrete scenario that describes your vision of the cockpit of the future.Derive this scenario via user stories into a technically feasible and commercially viable approach, and demonstrate the added value your approach delivers for users and for the OEM without merely presenting existing products. Topics such as, for example, AI sound and AI assistants should be considered.
Volkswagen pursues a clear goal of democratizing driver assistance systems across all vehicle classesfrom cost‑efficient entry-level solutions to highly automated driving functions and expects its partners to provide innovative, scalable contributions across this entire technological value chain. How would you, as a partner, implement this? Present a concrete scenario that describes your vision of highly automated driving in the future. Derive this scenario via user stories into a technically feasible and commercially viable approach, and demonstrate the added value your approach delivers for users and for the OEM without merely presenting existing products. Topics such as, for example, the use of AI in functions and development processes should be considered.
3. Powertrain & Battery
- How do you accelerate and stabilize industrialization while simultaneously reducing system costs?
- How do you ensure a resilient and robust supply chain while simultaneously ensuring cost competitiveness in raw materials?
- What strategy are you pursuing in the ICE environment, and which innovations are you developing to adjust to planning uncertainty?
4. Metals, Car Body & Drive System
Technological Leadership (Competitiveness)
- Which methods, innovations, and manufacturing optimizations sustainably enhance lightweight design, resource efficiency, and competitiveness, particularly for production in high-wage countries?
- Which new joining technologies, surface coatings, sealing systems, and cost‑efficient air suspension systems provide technological and economic added value?
- Which alternative or novel materials can replace existing materials – also in light of bans such as PFAS – and what opportunities and risks arise from these substitutions?
- Which innovations in chassis and vehicle dynamics systems could be decisive in securing long-term top-of-volume positions in the volume segment?
Sustainability
- Which materials, manufacturing, and design approaches measurably reduce the CO₂ footprint of driving systems and body systems?
- How can circular economy principles be implemented in car body construction, along with durable, alternative sealing and waterproofing technologies, without compromising quality and safety?
Intelligence & Digitalization
- How can digital development processes (e.g. simulation, digital twin, use of AI) shorten development time and integrate customer requirements at an early stage as well as enable season-independent development?
- How can virtual development methods for the optimization of body acoustics, large components, structural components and automation (crash, alloy selection, manufacturability and body testing) be used to reduce real test leads/parts?
- How can virtual development methods be applied to optimize chassis components? This includes, in particular:
1. Highly accurate lifetime prediction for welded assemblies and rubber-metal bushings
2. Virtual prototyping to determine and leverage structural-mechanical effects of manufacturing processes (e.g., thinning, welding distortion, residual stresses in axle components/assemblies) for product optimization
- How can efficiency gains be achieved in control unit development through the use of new, innovative, and/or digitalized development tools? This includes, in particular:
1. Solutions within Continuous Integration / Continuous Testing frameworks for fully virtual software validation of mechatronic systems (e.g., vECU, HiL connectivity, automated evaluation routines, etc.)
2. Establishment and integration of a virtual baseline application for mechatronic systems (focus: toolchain automation and systematic content validation)
Customer Benefits & Experience
- What innovations and measures can be used to implement comfort-optimized driving systems without compromising on quality, driving dynamics and competitiveness?
- Which innovations (e.g. sensor technology, software algorithms, linked driving system functions, friction-optimized components) in the chassis area noticeably improve the customer experience?
5. General Procurement and AI
- Empowering Partners, Procurement and AI – to shape Technical Innovation. How can you, as a strategic partner, help us to shape the next level of high-value innovation by implementing AI-driven solutions?
Join us!
The submission phase for exhibitors runs from April 23 to July 31, 2026.
The submission deadline for startups expired on June 26, 2026. Therefore, we are unfortunately no longer able to consider submissions from startups.
You can submit one or more solutions. Please use a separate form for each submission.