From motorsport and off highway to commercial vehicles, the automotive industry continues to evolve at a fast pace and engineers need stay ahead of the curve to develop innovative solutions to solve key technical challenges.
Organised by committees of senior engineers, the Institution’s Advancing Automotive Engineering (AAE) conference (21-22 October 2025, Warwick) will provide a key forum to facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration for all those working at the cutting edge of automotive design, manufacturing, and engineering.
Attendees will benefit from technical sessions, keynote presentations, and panel discussions led by experts from foremost OEMs, tier-1 suppliers, research institutions, and academia, with input this year from those working at Jaguar Land Rover, Ferrari, Bentley Motors, MAHLE Powertrain, AVL, Marshall Fleet Solutions, Ricardo, Shell, FEV Vehicle, Dumarey, JCB, Concawe, CAT, and many others.
“AAE is a cornerstone event for the automotive engineering community, bringing together the brightest minds to tackle the sector’s most pressing challenges,” said Lisa Bingley, chair of the IMechE’s Automotive Division. “For me, the stream focused on electrification and battery innovation is especially timely. As we accelerate the transition to net zero, it's vital we align cutting-edge technology with real-world deployment and workforce readiness. This stream offers a unique opportunity to explore how engineering, AI, and skills development converge to shape the future of mobility”
“The Advancing Automotive Engineering is a unique collection of events and gathering of speakers, highlighting how key advances are shaping the future of the automotive sector,” said Stephanos Theodossiades, Professor of Dynamics at Loughborough University and chair of the NVH presentations. “This will allow attendees to focus on specific areas of interest while also gaining a broader perspective on the industry's interconnected challenges. My personal focus is naturally on the NVH of Electric Powertrains and on Electrified Vehicle Engineering due to their particular timeliness with respect to transport electrification.”
The conference will also provide a great opportunity to meet with and gain fresh perspectives from the international engineering community, with speakers and delegates travelling from Turkey, USA, China, Saudi Arabia, Norway, Italy, and the UK.
For the first time, Advancing Automotive Engineering brings together four distinct themes in one location:
- Powertrain Systems for a Sustainable Future will bring together high-quality technical presentations of the latest fuels, powertrains, standards, control systems, and more that will meet the future propulsion system needs of the industry.
- Electrified Vehicle Engineering will discuss the challenges and technical solutions of bringing electric vehicles to market. This conference expands on the legacy of the IMechE’s popular EV Batteries conferences to tackle energy density, battery size, high voltage charging safety, cost efficient design, and much more.
- Noise, Vibration and Harshness of Electric Powertrains provides a forum for specialist practitioners to share best practice on the measurement and analysis of noise, vibration and harshness with specific focus on the challenges involved with electric powertrains.
- Vehicle Aerodynamics will provide insights on projects on the automotive, motorsport, and commercial vehicle industries, covering advancements in simulation, wind tunnel testing, real-world data integration, and more.
Also new for 2025 will see students and graduates enter their work in a poster competition, giving them the opportunity to showcase their work to engineers and companies working across the automotive sector. Students and researchers looking to share their work can submit a poster before the 19 September 2025 deadline, with a prize of up to £350 available for the top poster submission thanks to a prize fund generously provided by the Faraday Institution, and the winning poster will be awarded their prize by the IMechE’s 140th president Matt Garside during the conference.
"The IMechE was founded with a key mission: the sharing of knowledge to advance the engineering community and the world,” said Chloe Sarson, conference programme lead. “In that spirit, we created Advancing Automotive Engineering (AAE), our newest technical summit. We're bringing automotive experts together to spark the thought-provoking, mission-driven debates that will build the future of vehicles and engines. Be including the key players, we will discuss the challenges, share critical insights and drive progress in the IMechE spirit of innovation and collaboration. Not just another event: a catalyst to drive us forward."
Engineers attending the conference will be able to pick the sessions most valuable to their learning objectives and will benefit from a shared area to network with conference participants, presenters, and sponsor organisations.
“The holistic approach covering all technologies for future propulsion systems is the true value of the AAE summit,” explained Steve Sapsford, Managing Director of SCE and senior member of the Powertrains conference committee. “Rather than pinning all our hopes on one exclusive technology, the Powertrain Systems for a Sustainable Future stream focuses on the immediate and practical steps we can take today to reducing greenhouse gas and other emissions - an essential element if we are serious about a more sustainable future.”
"AAE provides a great forum for automotive professionals to come together to network and discuss the challenges and opportunities presented as a result of the sector’s transition to zero emission propulsion," added Paul Jones, event chair and chief executive of the Northern Automotive Alliance. "Join us at Electrified Vehicle Engineering to hear about the latest technologies across all aspects of EV development, from power systems and efficiency to supply chain and sustainability, with wider insights from the marine and rail sectors."
The conference is open to engineers, technical specialists, researchers, and decision-makers dedicated to shaping the vehicles of tomorrow; register to join the discussions and we look forward to welcoming you to Warwick this October.