Automotive Testing Expo North America is fast approaching, with the show returning to Novi, Michigan, on October 27-29, 2026. Now integrated into the newly launched Vehicle Tech Week North America, the event remains the region’s leading gathering for engineers, program leaders and decision-makers working across vehicle development, testing and validation.
More than 250 solution providers are expected on the show floor, with exhibits spanning vehicle testing and validation, ADAS and autonomous vehicle development, NVH measurement and analysis, emissions and powertrain testing, simulation and virtual development tools, and data acquisition and test automation. As part of Vehicle Tech Week North America, visitors also gain access to two additional events, Intelligent Vehicle Expo and Automotive Design & In-Cabin Expo, broadening the range of opportunities for cross-disciplinary conversations across the vehicle development lifecycle.
The Future of Automotive Testing Conference
Now in its third year, The Future of Automotive Testing Conference expands to a full three-day, free-to-attend program in 2026 and brings together perspectives from OEMs, suppliers, testing laboratories, research institutions and regulatory bodies to discuss where testing is headed next.
Here, Automotive Testing Technology International editor Rachel Evans highlights the key sessions she is looking forward to attending at the show.
Thermal management is becoming a central part of vehicle architecture as OEMs transition toward hybrid and electric powertrains. In the ‘Thermal management: A fireside chat‘ session on day one of the show, experts from Ford, General Motors and Stellantis will explore how thermal systems are evolving beyond conventional cooling to manage energy flow across the vehicle. Their discussion will cover the role of simulation, validation and testing in developing more efficient thermal strategies, with a focus on maximizing range and safety. Speakers include Gursaran D. Mathur of Ford, Sowmya Jayaraman of General Motors and Aamir Khawaja of Stellantis.
In the ‘Closed-Loop Physics & Actuation – Bridging High-Fidelity Vehicle Dynamics with SIL/HIL Architectures‘ panel on day two, experts from Zoox, General Motors, IPG Automotive and Cayman Dynamics will examine the challenges of bringing high-fidelity vehicle dynamics into SIL/HIL testing. The discussion will cover real-time tire modeling, latency in steer-by-wire and brake-by-wire systems, active suspension and autonomous motion planning, and validating vehicle stability before physical track testing.
In day two’s ‘Why ECU reliability testing misses real humidity exposure‘ session, Tesla will explore why conventional ECU qualification testing can fail to replicate the humidity exposure vehicles experience in the real world. Field reliability engineer Shrikant Pawar will examine how slow, cumulative moisture exposure can contribute to electrochemical migration and dendritic short circuits in PCBs, despite components passing standard humidity and thermal testing.
Rachel’s final pick is the ‘Model-in-the-loop testing for reliable automotive control software‘ session on day three, which will explore how MIL testing can identify control logic and requirements issues before software reaches an ECU or test vehicle. Caterpillar‘s lead controls engineer Anusha Pothineni will discuss how simulation can be used to test normal, boundary, fault and safety-related conditions, with practical examples of model-based control software.
See the full conference agenda here.
Vehicle Tech Week North America
This year’s expo marks the debut of Vehicle Tech Week North America, which brings three specialist conferences under one roof: The Future of Automotive Testing Conference, Intelligent Vehicle Conference and Automotive Design & In-Cabin Conference. Attendees will be able to attend sessions in their discipline while also dipping into adjacent industry topics.
Free expo passes for Automotive Testing Expo North America, which include access to the exhibition and the full conference program, are available now at testingexpo-usa.com.
Vehicle Tech Week North America 2026 will take place at the Vibe Credit Union Showplace in Novi, Michigan, on October 27-29, 2026.
