The questions facing the automotive industry today are well known. How do we develop vehicles faster and more efficiently? How do we manage the transition to the Software Defined Vehicle? What role will artificial intelligence play in development, production and procurement? How can batteries become more sustainable and supply chains more resilient? And how can Europe hold its own in competition with China and other markets?
Answers to these questions are increasingly unlikely to emerge within a single company. They emerge where manufacturers, suppliers, technology companies, start-ups, academia and policymakers bring their knowledge together.
This is precisely what the International Suppliers Fair (IZB) 2026 in Wolfsburg stands for. It is far more than a trade fair. It is the place where the industry discusses its most important questions, forges new partnerships and sets the course for the next generations of vehicles.
We Know the Questions. Together, We Find the Answers in Wolfsburg.
These are exactly the topics at the heart of IZB 2026. On the stages, in the Volkswagen Group Hubs and across the expanded specialist programme, development, procurement, research, start-ups, politics and management come together. Through the Call for Proposals, companies bring their ideas and solutions directly into the discussion – and engage with relevant functions within the Volkswagen Group on concrete solutions for the next and subsequent generations of vehicles.
Hardly any other trade fair offers such direct exchange with Volkswagen. The Group’s functional departments, developers, procurement teams and management are present, actively seek dialogue, and discuss not only the future of mobility but also the challenges facing Volkswagen and the industry as a whole.
It is precisely this openness that sets IZB apart from many other industry events. The aim is not to present finished answers, but to engage in dialogue on the questions shaping the automotive industry.
“The challenges facing our industry can only be solved together. That is why, at IZB, we deliberately create spaces for open exchange between all players across the automotive value chain.”
Thomas Krause, Spokesman of the Board of Management of Wolfsburg AG
The Future of the Automotive Industry Will Be Decided Internationally
With the China Congress taking place immediately after IZB, international exchange is given its own framework. That is a logical step. Many of the developments shaping the industry today have long since been emerging outside Europe. Anyone seeking to understand markets, assess new technologies or build international partnerships benefits from direct exchange with the people driving these developments.
Many of the most important conversations do not take place on stage. They happen between appointments, at the welcome evening or by chance on the exhibition grounds. Initial encounters grow into new projects, development partnerships and long-term business relationships.
Road to IZB
With its editorial series “Road to IZB 2026” on OEM&Lieferant, Wolfsburg AG, the organiser of IZB, tracks the key developments in the international automotive and supplier industry in the run-up to the next International Suppliers Fair in Wolfsburg.
This article concludes the series. Because in the end, the success of an idea is determined not only by its quality – but also by whether the right people start talking to one another.
The future of the automotive industry does not emerge in one place. But every two years, it comes together in Wolfsburg.
For more information about IZB from 27 to 29 October 2026 and your opportunities to participate, visit: www.izb-online.com
Text and foto: Wolfsburg AG / IZB (v.i.S.d.P.
