PMW Expo 2026

How it compares

The obvious comparison is PRI Show in Indianapolis, which puts more than 1,000 exhibitors in front of the North American racing trade each December. PRI is a parts and distribution market as much as an engineering one, with short-track, drag and circle-track buyers alongside the professional teams. A supplier chasing American dealers and race shops needs PRI; a European engineering firm looking for design-in work with Formula 1, endurance, rally and GT programs will find those people concentrated in Cologne a month earlier.

Autosport International in Birmingham is the other European option. Its engineering hall sits next to a large public show, which suits brands that sell to British club racers and want consumer visibility as well. PMW Expo is trade only across both days, so the conversations are longer and more technical, and the exhibitor base draws heavily on Italian, German and Benelux suppliers.

PMW Expo is the right choice when the buyer is an engineer: chassis, powertrain or data specialists who will specify a component for next season's car or a limited-run hypercar. Suppliers who sell mainly through distributors and retail are better served by the larger parts markets.

PMW Expo is the trip for motorsport and high-performance car engineers who want to meet Europe's specialist component suppliers in two days and one hall.

Who exhibits

The list reads like the parts catalog of a GT or prototype car. Brake makers Alcon, AP Racing and PFC sit near gearbox builders Xtrac, Hewland and Drenth, electronics firms Cosworth Electronics, MoTeC, Bosch Motorsport and Motion Applied, and damper specialists Öhlins and KW. Additive manufacturing has a visible block, with Nikon SLM Solutions, APWORKS and Fraunhofer IAPT. Italian suppliers are unusually strong, many of them grouped on the ANFIA Motorsport and RPM network stands, and there is a solid contingent of British engineering shops.

This year's list is on its way. A HallBrief brief picks the exhibitors worth meeting for your goals and the people to talk to at each. Get a brief

PMW Expo 2026

The stage program grows from two forums to four. The Advanced Powertrain Technology Forum and the additive manufacturing symposium return, joined by a Performance Management in Motorsport Forum and a Niche Automotive Manufacturing Forum, with speakers from Lamborghini, General Motors' Formula 1 program, Toyota Racing's hydrogen project, Michelin and Ricardo. Two short courses on vehicle dynamics and transient handling, taught by former Red Bull Racing and Audi F1 engineers, are new this year. Motion Applied returns as headline sponsor.

• Stay for the end of the first day: the drinks reception and the PMW Magazine Awards run on the show floor straight after the hall closes, and that is when exhibitors and team engineers mix most easily.
• The forums are included with the free expo pass, so plan stand visits around the sessions that match your program, for example the hydrogen and hybrid talks in the powertrain forum.
• The Italian suppliers are concentrated on the ANFIA Motorsport and RPM network stands, which makes it practical to see a dozen specialist machining, casting and safety-equipment firms in one stop.
• The two vehicle dynamics short courses are pitched at engineers, from graduates to experienced simulation specialists, and run off the show floor; check the schedule before sending a team member.

Exhibiting

Stands are sold through an enquiry with the organizer's sales team. The show pays off best for suppliers whose customers are engineering departments: component and systems makers that want to be specified into race cars, hypercars and small-series vehicles across Europe. Entering a product for the PMW Magazine Awards brings the judging panel and the magazine's editors to the stand.