CDN People Awards 2026 shortlist revealed

Car Design News has revealed the shortlist for the 2026 CDN People Awards, celebrating the designers, teams, educators and emerging talent shaping the global automotive design industry. Spanning traditional disciplines such as exterior, interior and clay modelling alongside AI, UX, sustainability and advanced design, this year’s nominees reflect the growing breadth of skills behind contemporary vehicle design.

AI Explorer Award

• Changan Global Design Center, AI Explorer Team

• Manthan Desai

• Moin Khan, SPD

• Nikita Zatonskiy, Umeå Institute of Design

• SAIC Design, AI Innovation Team

• Sampad Chaulia

• Santiago Sanchez Peña

Best CMF Team Award

• Amble & Forpeople, Design Teams

• Audi Design, CME Nuvolari Team

• Bentley, CMF & Bespoke Team

• Citroën, CMF Design Team

• Kia, CMF Design Team

• Mazda Design Europe, CMF Team

• McLaren Automotive, CMF Team

• Range Rover, Bespoke Materiality Team

• Slate Auto, Design Team

• Stellantis North America, Advanced Color and Materials Team

• Xpeng, CMF Design Team

Most Sustainable Team

• Forvia, CMF Global Design Team

• Italdesign, Sustainable Tech Team

• JLR, Circularity Lab

• Kia CMF Design, Hyundai Motor Company

• Maruti Suzuki India, CMF Design Team

• Rivian, CMF Design Studio

• Slate Auto Design Team

• Surventis, Global Design Team

Best Clay Modelling Team Award

• Bentley, Design Modelling Team

• Changan Global Design Center, Clay Modelling Team

• Changan Turin, Clay Modelling Team Deepal

• Rivian, Clay Modeling Team

• SAIC Design, Clay Modelling Team

Best Digital Modelling Team

• Bentley, Digital Surfacing Team

• Changan Global Design Center, Digital Modelling Team

• Christopher Gould, Avant Design

• Hyundai Motor Company, Design Digital Solution Team

• JLR, Digital Modelling Team

• Kia, Digital Design Team

• Rivian, Digital Surfacing Team

• SAIC Design, Digital Team

Best Lighting Design Team Award

• Audi, Design Light Team E7X

• Changan Global Design Center, Lighting Design Team

• Hyundai Motor Company, China Lighting Design Team

• Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Center GmbH, Lighting Design Team

• Kia Next Design Exterior Group, Lighting Design Team

• Mind, Product Innovation Department

• Mind, Styling Team

• Škoda Auto, Lighting Design Team

Beyond Automotive Design Team Award

• Calty Design Teams

• Hyundai Motor Company, Commercial Vehicle Advanced Design Team

• Hyundai Motor Company, Genesis Future Design Team

• Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Center, Design Team

• Mahindra, Global Design Team

• Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corporation, Transformation Office, Advanced Design Team

• Royal College of Art, PaceDriven Design Team

• Slate Auto Design Team

• Tata Elxsi, Industrial Design Team

Challenging the Industry Award

• Amble & Forpeople Design Teams

• Bridge of Weir Leather, Innovation Team

• Forvia, Global Industrial Design Team

• Hyundai Design Europe Team

• Khalil Design & OQTA Motors

• Kia Next Design, Exterior Team

• Longbow Motors & Avant Design

• Scott Rafferty, Pyre Labs

• Slate Auto, Design Team

• Stellantis, Citroën Design Team

Design Educator of the Year

• Hojoon Kang, College for Creative Studies

• John Krsteski, Genesis Design & ArtCenter College

• Kurt Beyer, Pforzheim University

• Mark Trostle, Stellantis

• Raphael Zammit, College for Creative Studies

• Richard Gilmartin, University of Staffordshire

• Thomas Dal, Strate School of Design Bangalore

• Vibhor Sharma, University of Wales Trinity Saint David

Best Supplier

• DS Group, Design & Solutions

• Esiste Design Studio

• Harman Automotive Design Team

• KO'LAB Industrial Design & Research

• Ultrafabrics Product Development & Automotive Teams

Undiscovered Talent

• Ethan Meekin, University of Staffordshire

• Helena Wan, China Academy of Art

• Jakub Szewczyk, Umeå Institute of Design

• Konstantin Sorge, Pforzheim University

• Lilla Csetai, University of Staffordshire

• Manthan Desai

• Nigel Müller, Pforzheim University

• Vaibhav Kashyap

• Valentin Gatto, Avatar Mobilité

• Yishun Dai, Umeå Institute of Design

Best Studio Engineering Team

• Bentley, Studio Engineering Team

• Changan Global Design Center, Studio Engineering Team

• Hyundai Motor Company, Design Engineering Team

• JAS Motorsport S.r.l., Design Team

• JLR, Studio Engineering Team

• Kia, Design Engineering Team

• Pagani Automobili, Grandi Complicazioni Team

Best Exterior Design Team

• Audi Design, Exterior Team Nuvolari

• Bentley, Exterior Design Team

• Citroën, Exterior Design Team

• Hyundai America Technical Center Inc, Exterior Team

• Hyundai Design China, Exterior Design Team

• Hyundai Europe Design, Exterior Team

• JAS Tensei, Exterior Design Team

• Kia Next Design, Exterior Team

• Mazda Design Europe, Exterior Team

• McLaren Automotive, Exterior Design Team

• Rivian, Exterior Design Team

• Slate Auto, Design Team

Best Interior Design Team

• Audi Design, Interior Nuvolari Team

• Bentley, Interior Design Team

• Citroën, Interior Design Team

• Hyundai America Technical Center Inc, Interior Team

• Hyundai Design China, Interior Design Team

• Hyundai Design Europe, Interior Team

• Hyundai Motor Company, Crater Interior Design Team

• Kia Next, Interior Design Group

• Mazda Design Europe, Interior Team

• McLaren Automotive, Interior Design Team

• Rivian, Interior Design Team

• Slate Auto, Design Team

Unsung Hero

• Edgar Chu, Rev Auto Design

• GM Advanced Design, UK Operations Team

• Hyundai Design Europe, Studio Engineering Team

• Hyundai Motor Company, Design Advanced Technology Solutions Team

• Lavinia Khalil, OQTA Motors & Khalil Design

• Maruti Suzuki, Colour Bill of Material Team

• Rich Morris, Bentley

• Takahashi Hisashi, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corporation

• Varruna Setty, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corporation

Best Advanced Design Team Award

• Audi Design, Nuvolari Team

• CALTY Design Research, Advanced Exterior Design Team

• Citroën, Concept Advanced Design Team

• Hyundai America Technical Center Inc, Advanced Design Team

• Hyundai, EU Design Team

• Kia Future Design Group

• McLaren Automotive, Design Team

• Mormedi, Advanced Design Team

• Peugeot Design, Advanced Team

• SAIC Design Advanced London

Best UX/UI Design Team Award

• Amble, Design Team

• Forvia, North America Design Studio

• Hyundai Motor Company, Design Advanced Technology Solutions Team

• Hyundai Motor Company, Interior Component Design Group

• Marelli, Lighting China Team

• Maruti Suzuki, UI/UX Design Team

• Research & UX/UI Design Team, Tata Elxsi

• Rivian, Digital Studio

• Slate Auto, Design Team

Best Visualisation Team Award

• Changan Global Design Center, Visualisation Team

• Forvia, North America Design Studio

• Genesis Design California Visualization Team

• GM Advanced UK, Visualisation Team

• KIA Global VR Design Team

• Mahindra, Design Visualisation Team

• Maruti Suzuki Design, Visualisation Team

• Stellantis, North America Visualisation Team

• Surventis GmbH, Global Design Team & Zeiguised