This year’s Automotive Testing Technology International Awards have been presented at Automotive Testing Expo Europe in Stuttgart, Germany. Coordinated by Automotive Testing Technology International, the awards were presented at the exhibition for the first time in 2024 – and were hailed a tremendous success.
ATTI received an overwhelming number of nominations this year, making the selection process especially challenging.
Simulation Innovation of the Year
In the Simulation Innovation of the Year category – introduced to highlight the industry’s shift toward digital-led development – the winner was Foretellix for its Foretify integration with Nvidia. The judges felt that the combination of Foretellix’s Foretify data automation toolchain with Nvidia Omniverse and Cosmos Transfer create a powerful testing solution.
Awards juror Dr Huw Davies, senior lecturer, Centre for Future Transport and Cities, Coventry University, said, “The complexity of the traffic environment and its edge cases requires efficient ways of generating reliable test scenarios. The ability to provide varied and high-quality synthetic data is key to unlocking this problem.”
Supplier of the Year
Competition was tight for new category Supplier of the Year, with Rohde & Schwarz, dSPACE, CAERI, and VI-grade all strong contenders in their own right. Ultimately, it was dSPACE that took home the trophy.
Said Mohammad Behroozi, senior vehicle dynamicist at GM and ATTI Awards judge, “I chose dSPACE because it’s at the forefront of AI augmented validation – partnering with JKU (generative AI in IVS), Microsoft (AI for vECU/SIL), and AWS (AI scenario generation) – while also rolling out the enhanced MicroLabBox II for early-stage HIL and its new traffic virtualizer, driving continuous SIL/HIL workflow innovation.”
OEM of the Year
The OEM of the Year category, the third new category introduced in 2025, featured nominations from two legacy auto makers – BMW and Mercedes-Benz – as well as solar car manufacturer Aptera, and Chery, whose two newly launched brands, Jaecoo and Omoda, were a key reason for its selection.
The judges were particularly impressed with winner Mercedes-Benz, recognizing its accomplishments across several landmark vehicle testing projects, especially its development of a solid-state battery vehicle.
As Vincent Sabatini, high-voltage and HIL systems engineer, Ford Motor Company, noted, “Mercedes-Benz is succeeding in both of the routes most OEMs are trying to focus on: AV and EV development. Solid-state batteries are a likely future for EVs, while their progress and implementation of Level 3/4 AV autonomy is incredibly impressive.”
Testing Hardware Innovation of the Year
Rebranded for 2025, the Testing Hardware Innovation of the Year category stood out due to the sheer volume of entries received, many of which featured novel hardware solutions that also incorporated cutting-edge software as a key component. This reflects the growing trend toward cyber-physical testing, where the lines between hardware and software are increasingly blurred.
ZF was this year’s winner with the Road Belt Tester (RB5), which supports all state-of-the-art force and moment tests and features an advanced hexapod design. Thomas Trebitsch, vice president, ZF Test Systems, said, “We are proud to have won the prestigious award for our RB5. This achievement is a testament to the hard work, dedication, passion and spirit of the entire team.
“The RB5 opens previously closed doors in terms of virtual development of the entire vehicle, as well as realistic validation of tires considering chassis kinematics – a milestone in the development of virtual vehicle development.”
Testing Software Innovation of the Year
Meanwhile, Testing Software Innovation of the Year – also rebranded – was hotly contested. In the end, CARIAD received the most points for its Cloud CAT platform. The tool impressed the judges with its capabilities in streamlining the entire software delivery cycle.
Summing up the package’s appeal, jury member Lakshmi Prasad Bhatta, manager of CAE – Detroit MRV, Mahindra Automotive North America, said, “Cloud CAT automates the entire vehicle software delivery and testing cycle using remote orchestration and agent PCs – reducing lead times and eliminating manual steps across integration workflows.”
Facility of the Year
This year’s worthy winner in the Facility of the Year grouping was DNW with its Automotive Test Section, a revolutionary add-on to its Large Low-Speed Wind Tunnel that enables WLTP testing for large vehicles in the lab.
Project manager, Henning Wilhelmi, revealed, “The introduction of the automotive test section at DNW has been a great success. Our new, state-of-the-art five-belt facility has successfully supported numerous development and WLTP certification campaigns. We have handled every type of vehicle so far, from standard vehicles to large transporters with long wheelbases and complex specialized equipment. Furthermore, we have recently expanded our capabilities to accommodate twin-wheel vehicles with extra-wide 480mm wheel belts, a crucial configuration option for our clientele with large vehicles.”
(Read more about DNW in our March 2025 issue.)
ADAS & AV Test Innovation of the Year
rFpro picked up the ADAS & AV Test Innovation of the Year accolade for its AV elevate architecture. This new tool supports closed-loop perception testing and the creation of high-quality synthetic training data, enabling developers to tune sensors, train algorithms and test the full AV tech stack in one place.
Commented the company’s product manager, Josh Wreford, “We’re delighted that AV elevate has been recognized with such a prestigious industry award. To win ATTI’s ADAS & AV Test Innovation of the Year is a fantastic endorsement of the product.
“AV elevate has been created to enable developers to tune, train and test automated driving systems more quickly, more accurately and more cost-effectively, and this award is a testament to the impact it’s already having in the industry.”
Sustainable Powertrain Test Innovation of the Year
In the Sustainable Powertrain Test Innovation of the Year grouping, there were six worthy nominees, including multiple manufacturing test solutions. Receiving the most points was SandboxAQ with its large quantitative models. These AI-driven models have the potential to reduce the prediction time for lithium-ion battery end-of-life calculations by 95%.
ATTI Awards juror Sabatini, emphasized, “Being able to accurately model lifespan expectations of HV batteries would greatly improve the evolution rate of battery design. Reducing the resources required to develop optimal HV battery designs is a must for OEMs and suppliers that want to survive the transition to EVs.”
Person of the Year
This year’s Person of the Year category featured nominees from all walks of vehicle testing, all of whom were nominated for very different reasons. Joanne Smith, Horiba Mira’s capability group head of passive safety took home the trophy. Smith has led a milestone year for Horiba Mira’s crash testing operations, overseeing the creation of a multimillion-pound crash lab that is unique in the UK.
Smith commented, “It’s such an honor to receive the Person of the Year award. As I celebrate 30 years at Horiba Mira, this recognition feels particularly special and I’m proud to accept it on behalf of the entire passive safety team. The facility’s capabilities are already making a tangible difference, and I’m proud to be part of this transformative phase in automotive safety.”
The ATTI Awards were decided by a panel of engineers and technical writers. Launched in 2006, they are a non-profit entity, which have grown each year.
Reflecting on the Awards process, ATTI Awards chair and ATTI editor Rachel Evans stated, “Collating the shortlist this year was a breath of fresh air. It’s so fantastic to see everyone working together to overcome common difficulties, and in doing so, creating novel solutions.”
Look out for more on the winners in the June issue of Automotive Testing Technology International and visit the Awards page of the expo website for more information.
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