Designer vox pops at the Belgian motor show and their plans for 2026 revealed

Many in the industry are saying Brussels could replace the Geneva Motor Show as an early-year European launch venue and talking shop before Paris or Munich. What’s your view?

Gilles Vidal, head of design Stellantis Europe: 

I think Brussels is going to become the new Geneva. Geneva had more super car brands and stuff like that, but Brussels is more commercial and now that the European Car of the Year Award is announced here too car manufacturers are coming with a much stronger presence, making statements and presenting new cars and world premieres. From the Stellantis Group, all the brand CEOs are here, which sends a strong message. 

Oliver Samson, chief senior designer, Kia Europe Design: 

This is my first time at the show, so I’m observing a little bit and looking at what’s here. It would be nice to see this as a substitute for Geneva. I would love to see that, to have a relevant car show with similar prestige. In terms of history and culture, the city could really carry that. It’s not an unknown city. It really has a good mix of everything you need and the location itself is also quite nice.

Pierre Leclercq, design director, Citroën: 

Brussels is special for me because I’m from Belgium so first of all I’m at home and to be able to bring cars like the Citroën Elo concept here is very special. When I see all the journalists here, they understand that it’s a big show. Even though the surface area [of the exhibition] is smaller than 10 years ago, it’s still a fantastic show because all the [important] cars are here. It’s not yet a show where you have lots of concepts – like Geneva used to be – but it’s growing.

Jo Stenuit, design director, Mazda Design Europe: Geneva always had a bit more of a design feel with strange and super cars – and concepts – but I think there are more and more premieres happening in Brussels. It’s certainly the case for us with the world premiere of the CX-6e.

Jochen Paesen, VP, head of Kia Future Design Group: Well, I'm biased as a Belgian [laughs]... I've actually come back for the first time in 15 years and I'm super positively surprised. It's a really nice nice little show, and it kind of reminds me a little bit of Geneva because it's more compact. Over the last five years of shows I haven't seen that much 'hustle and bustle' so it seems like it's a nice show and I would hope that it finds a good fixture. Nice cold weather and rain aside, I'm very happy to see that it's so lively and, for me, it would be a nice way to have Europe on the map.

Sergio Loureiro Da Silva, interior design director, Zeekr:  I think yes. Europe needs at least two motor shows: one at the start and end of the year. Geneva was in the spring, so Brussels could actually be the one that allows brands to have multiple launches per year. It's a neutral ground here, so brands don't feel like journalists are only interested in the French or German marques. It's also important for us at Zeekr because we are starting with markets in Northern Europe, so Brussels is actually a good place to launch a product. You don't meet as many designers as a big show like Munich, but for me it's nice because I'm from Luxembourg which is only a short drive — I can see the family and the cars at the same time!

What’s top of your design in-tray for 2026?

Oliver Samson, chief senior designer, Kia Europe Design: On a grand scale, it’s staying competitive in every possible way, especially if you see the content of some of our competitors. We really try to make a product that is a better proposition. And it’s the whole product, the sum of all the things. Kia has the same ‘fishing grounds’ as some of the Chinese manufacturers, Volkswagen and especially now Renault and Stellantis too. 

So we have to be really careful to make an offering where the product makes complete sense. Something I’ve learned over the years is that the design has to be right, but then again, if the product underneath is not good... There’s an investment to make on where that money is spent. It’s really tricky and it’s only getting harder. Now we’ve basically rolled out – more or less – the entire Kia lineup, we can think about the next steps. We’re turning a new page, not just in terms of form language and design, but also in positioning, different proportions, concept vehicles and seating inside the car. We’re thinking about architecture. That’s something we can develop further.

François Leboine, Fiat design director: We worked in the last four years on creating a new family [the ‘Dolce Virtual’ quintet] that is now coming to the market but for us in design it’s done. Now we work on replacing the cars we already know. What will also be interesting for us in 2026 is to see the acceptance of the Grande Panda and the way it will impact the image – for good – of Fiat. This car was made to be a milestone in the evolution of the brand, especially at a European level because we knew that in recent years, Fiat was too much connected to the 500’s image. It was important to relaunch Fiat as a brand that offers a different type of object. This is the beginning of a new era for us and people will understand that by seeing the car more in the street.

Gilles Vidal, head of design Stellantis Europe:

Since everybody is doing good, reliable cars – which you might like or dislike, but still at a good level as a whole – how do you stand out from the crowd? How do you find specifics? It starts from deciding “my brand stands for this and that” and once you have that, you make your designs according to those points, so they resonate with the brand. Too many mainstream brands try to be good at everything and end up being average at everything. We need to be deep and high, where we are the best at something in the world. You’ll be a lot more successful when you do that.

In 2026 we need to craft carefully for every brand, to create emerging products. In terms of creative ambition, we need to go very far. And that’s tricky because the pace at which the world is going now – and at which people get bored of things and throw them away and want new stuff – is accelerating all the time. But I think we need to push really hard and far for the sheer creativity of what we do, even if it’s a bit scary. As long as we put enough focus in the harmony of the execution, then it’s not going to be weird or sci-fi or whatever. It could still be very approachable. That’s the challenge, but we must be among the brands that succeed in reaching this goal.