Stuttgart Automotive Design & In-Cabin Expo: event guide

Automotive Design & In-Cabin Expo Europe, previously known as Automotive Interiors Expo, is the specialist vehicle-cabin event within Vehicle Tech Week Europe. Its stated focus extends from interior materials and human-machine interfaces to digital design, user experience and integrated vehicle environments.

Dates: 2–3 June 2027
Venue: Messe Stuttgart, Messepiazza 1, 70629 Stuttgart, Germany
Organiser: UKi Media & Events

The organiser says a visitor pass covers the co-located Vehicle Tech Week events, including Automotive Testing Expo, Intelligent Vehicle Expo and the Advanced Chassis & Powertrain Showcase. The in-cabin event itself is centred on the design, materials and technologies shaping vehicle interiors.

Why Stuttgart Automotive Design & In-Cabin Expo matters

Evaluate cabin materials and finishes

Interior materials influence the tactile and visual character of a cabin as well as its practical specification. The event's stated focus on advanced and sustainable materials gives design and engineering teams a place to examine options and consider how they may fit their vehicle programmes.

Explore the human-machine interface

Human-machine interfaces, displays, lighting, connectivity and software-driven design affect how occupants interact with vehicle functions. Reviewing these areas together can help visitors frame questions about usability, integration and the relationship between physical and digital controls.

Connect design decisions with supplier capabilities

The official event description positions the show for OEMs, Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers, designers, engineers and decision-makers. Visitors may compare suppliers and discuss technical questions, while confirming specific exhibitors and meetings with the organiser as information is released.

Who should visit Stuttgart Automotive Design & In-Cabin Expo?

Automotive OEM design and development teams

Useful if you are assessing how cabin design can support comfort, functionality and brand expression. Compare material and interface approaches against a defined vehicle programme, then note the design, durability, integration and validation questions that need follow-up.

• Review interior materials, finishes and lighting concepts against programme requirements.
• Consider how physical surfaces and digital interfaces work together in the cabin.
• Record which supplier capabilities merit a deeper technical discussion.

Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers

Useful if you develop or integrate cabin components, systems or technologies. The event's focus on materials, HMI and integrated vehicle environments can help you understand adjacent solutions and identify where product interfaces or collaboration may matter.

• Compare component and system approaches relevant to your portfolio.
• Prepare concise specifications and application questions for supplier conversations.
• Track potential partners and the next technical or commercial step.

Automotive designers, engineers and materials specialists

Useful if your work involves cabin styling, user experience, material selection, lighting or human-machine interfaces. Focus on how individual materials and technologies could work within a complete in-cabin environment, rather than assessing each display in isolation.

• Examine surface, trim and material options for their intended application.
• Compare interface and lighting concepts with usability and integration criteria.
• Capture evidence needed for internal design and engineering reviews.

Professionals from adjacent vehicle sectors

The organiser names agriculture, mining and defence among adjacent sectors. Their vehicle programmes may have different operating environments and user requirements from passenger cars, so assess each solution against the relevant duty cycle, safety, maintenance and cabin-use needs.

• Define the vehicle type and operating conditions relevant to your project.
• Ask how a material, interface or cabin component is intended to be used.
• Separate transferable ideas from requirements needing sector-specific validation.

What can you find at Stuttgart Automotive Design & In-Cabin Expo?

Interior materials and finishes

The event covers advanced and sustainable materials and interior finishes. Visitors can compare tactile qualities and surface treatments, then establish what technical specifications, performance evidence and application limits they need from a prospective supplier.

Human-machine interfaces and digital design

Human-machine interfaces, digital design and user experience are named parts of the event's scope. Consider how controls, displays and software-led interaction may fit the intended cabin, and record questions about usability, system integration and engineering evidence.

Lighting, connectivity and integrated cabin environments

The organiser also identifies advanced lighting, connectivity and integrated vehicle environments. Evaluate them in relation to the whole cabin: note how lighting, materials and digital functions may affect one another, and what vehicle-level dependencies need checking.

How to prepare before Stuttgart Automotive Design & In-Cabin Expo

1. Define your programme question

Choose a concrete purpose: reviewing material options for a cabin programme, comparing HMI approaches or mapping suppliers for a design phase. A clear question helps distinguish relevant solutions from interesting but out-of-scope displays.

2. Set comparison criteria

For materials, prepare the intended application, finish, tactile qualities and performance evidence you need to discuss. For interfaces and lighting, list the user task, integration context and validation questions. Do not assume a displayed concept is production-ready; ask what stage of development it represents.

3. Plan conversations and capture notes

Prioritise the product areas closest to your objective. Record company, solution, intended application, evidence requested, relevance and next action so you can compare alternatives after the show.

4. Check visitor arrangements

The organiser's current website invites visitors to register for a free pass and describes access to the co-located Vehicle Tech Week events. Check the current registration and programme information before making plans.

How to make the most of the exhibition

Use the floor as a structured evaluation exercise rather than collecting brochures without context. For each relevant solution, note what it does, which vehicle or cabin application it addresses, what evidence is available and what remains unanswered. This gives design teams, engineers and commercial visitors a consistent basis for later comparison.

Keep product claims separate from your own assessment. If a material, interface or lighting concept appears promising, identify the specification, test data, compatibility details or samples needed for a later review. The reviewed event overview does not confirm a particular 2027 exhibitor list or demonstration, so verify specific targets with the organiser as information develops.

After Stuttgart Automotive Design & In-Cabin Expo

Sort notes into priority follow-up for current programmes, further evaluation for options needing technical evidence, and market insight for ideas to monitor. Request relevant specifications, material data, interface details or integration information, then compare them against project requirements before making a sourcing or design decision.

Record who owns each next step and what information is needed. Share a concise comparison with colleagues responsible for materials, user experience, validation and procurement so observations from the floor can be considered within the appropriate project process.

Who should consider exhibiting?

The organiser's stated scope is relevant to companies working in automotive interior materials and finishes, cabin components and systems, human-machine interfaces, lighting, digital design, user experience, connectivity and integrated vehicle environments. Potential exhibitors should define the audience and business objective they want to reach, then confirm stand options and arrangements directly with UKi Media & Events. No particular commercial outcome is guaranteed.

Is Stuttgart Automotive Design & In-Cabin Expo worth visiting?

The event is most relevant to professionals whose work touches vehicle interiors, cabin materials, HMI, lighting, digital design or user experience. It may also help adjacent-sector vehicle teams assess which cabin ideas transfer to their applications. A visit's value depends on how closely confirmed exhibitors and programme details match your priorities; prepare questions and evaluate each solution against a real project need.

Stuttgart Automotive Design & In-Cabin Expo 2027 at a glance

Make your visit purposeful

Which cabin-material, interface or user-experience decision could you move forward by examining relevant solutions and asking focused questions? Define that objective, capture evidence and follow up against project requirements.

Explore. Compare. Evaluate. Follow up.

Automotive industry opportunities in Germany

Market size and demand

Germany Trade & Invest reports automotive-industry revenue of EUR 527.6 billion in 2025 and passenger-car production of 4.15 million vehicles that year. These figures describe the wider automotive sector, not the market for cabin components alone. The agency also reports that passenger-car and light-commercial-vehicle manufacturer exports generated 77 percent of total revenue in 2025. Automotive-industry R&D expenditure was EUR 31.3 billion in 2024.

Drivers and areas to investigate

Vehicle production, export activity and reported R&D provide context for suppliers whose products fit vehicle-development and cabin programmes. Germany Trade & Invest identifies lightweight materials and digitalisation/electronics among relevant automotive areas. Cabin-focused businesses may investigate material and finish requirements, HMI and display integration, lighting and connected user experiences; these indicators do not establish a supplier gap or purchasing pipeline.

• Cabin-material suppliers: explore fit with vehicle programmes and request application-specific performance evidence. Qualification cycles and programme requirements are material barriers.
• HMI, display and lighting providers: assess fit with cabin architectures and identify integration, usability and approval evidence needed. Compatibility and development timing require independent assessment.
• Buyers and engineering teams: compare relevant solutions against defined programme needs and investigate supplier capabilities, specifications and export-market requirements.

Regulation and market access

Regulation (EU) 2027/858 establishes the EU framework for approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles and, within its scope, systems, components and separate technical units. The applicable route depends on the product and vehicle application; verify requirements for the specific component rather than infer compliance from a general event description.

What this may mean for exhibitors and visitors

Exhibitors may explain product applications, technical evidence and integration needs to relevant industry professionals. Visitors could compare supplier approaches and build programme-specific questions. Germany's sector-wide production and revenue figures are context only; demand, competition, qualification requirements and commercial feasibility must be assessed for each product.