• Left-shifting in automotive design: How real-time insight is reshaping creative workflows

    After introducing NavPack Design and exploring how its predictive and generative AI models are trained, we hit a relevant question: what does this actually change in day-to-day automotive design? The answer comes down to a shift that’s gaining momentum across the industry: AI-driven physics-based insights becoming more accessible to designers, not just simulation experts. As…


  • How NavPack Brings Engineering Intelligence into Alias & the design studio: AIF 2025

    At AIF 2025, the Autodesk NavPack team presented a clear message: AI is rapidly reshaping the relationship between design and engineering. Across “AI-accelerated Design and Engineering” and “Deep Dive: How to leverage simulation data for AI-accelerated design and engineering,” Matthias Bauer and Jakob Lohse demonstrated not only why AI-driven workflows matter, but how designers and…


  • Celebrating the people behind design: 2025 Car Design News People Awards

    While we love seeing the final shape of beautiful cars on the road, we don’t always recognize that every great car starts with ideas, talent, and people. That’s where  Car Design News People Awards (CDN People Awards) come in, shining a spotlight on the individuals and teams responsible for the creativity, craftsmanship, and innovation behind…


  • Design smarter, faster: Covestro’s Imagio® material library now in Autodesk VRED

    We’ve got some exciting news for automotive and transportation designers: Covestro’s Imagio® digital sample library is now integrated directly into Autodesk VRED 2026.1. That means instant access to tens of thousands of photorealistic polycarbonate materials—where and when you need them. Designers don’t have to wait on physical samples or hunt through material catalogs, because they…


  • What’s new in VRED 2026: Next-gen visualization for designers

    The VRED 2026 release continues to refine the value of real-time rendering, interoperability, and collaboration. Packed with groundbreaking new features like the Vulkan render engine and Live Referencing between Alias and VRED, this release is designed to make your design and visualization pipeline more efficient, more collaborative, and more powerful than ever before. Vulkan: A…


  • What’s new in Alias 2026: A new era of design, surfacing, and visualization

    The Alias 2026 release brings an exciting range of new tools and workflows that continue to redefine how designers and engineers create, collaborate, and visualize their ideas. With a focus on seamless visualization, smarter modeling tools, and workflow efficiency, Alias 2026 makes it easier than ever to bring your creative vision to life. VRED Renderer…


  • The power of brand: We talked with the judges of the Autodesk Student Automotive Design Competition

    Sketch work, ISD Rubika Team 1 (inspired by Polaroid) Last October, we revealed the first Autodesk Automotive Student Design Competition: The Power of Brand. This unique competition asked students to choose a non-automotive brand and, drawing on the elements of that brand, create a vehicle inspired by it. That means designing and visualizing an original…


  • Ideas in Motion: Adaptability at AIF25

    AIF25 – First Look We’re seeing a seismic shift in the automotive and mobility landscape, as the world transitions from ICE to electric. This shift comes with unique challenges – as well as unmatched opportunities. How we meet those challenges and opportunities will define this industry for years to come. The 2025 Automotive Innovation Forum…


  • Large conference room with big stage and screens. Onscreen features a blue car and a green car, and the company name: AUTODESK. The audience is seated and photographed from behind.

    China Automotive Innovation Forum

    Autodesk was thrilled to host its second annual China Automotive Innovation Forum on September 13th in Shanghai. This forum spotlights industry trends, customer case studies, interactive demos, executive meetings, media engagements, and exclusive updates on our ID&V solutions, which encompass automotive design, advanced manufacturing, and digital factories. This event drew 583 attendees – 332 in-person…


  • Welcome NAVASTO: Designers gaining insights into performance in real time

    Established 10 years ago by two engineers, NAVASTO has grown into a team of experts specializing in data science, engineering, physics, and software development. Because it was established by engineers, NAVASTO knows intimately the pain points of design process for structural engineers and designers. So NAVASTO spent the last decade addressing these real-world challenges in…


  • Hill Helicopters: The supercar of the skies

    When we first featured Hill Helicopter in 2020, it was a UK start-up focused on the vision of redefining helicopter design. Founded by Jason and Isabella Hill, the company’s HX50 was meant to disrupt the private helicopter market by moving beyond the over-engineered and under-designed reality of contemporary helicopters. In fact, the most well-known helicopter…


  • Wireframe of a car on black background. Text reads: Autodesk Alias. Learn the essentials.

    Alias certification course

    The Autodesk official Alias Certification program is tailored for automotive designers and creative professionals who want to learn the skills essential to designing in Autodesk Alias. Over five modules, you’ll learn At the end of the course, you’ll receive official certification for Alias Essentials. Alias Certification gives you an advantage in your design development and…


  • The Power of Brand: Autodesk’s first student Automotive Design competition

    Autodesk Automotive loves a good student design competition. We’ve talked about the APMA’s Project Arrow competition, the Domeble-Symetri Student Awards, and the student shows that Car Design News keeps an eye on, like the Coventry University’s Automotive and Transportation Design Show and the Royal College of Art’s post-graduate show – to name only a few.…


  • New! Alias Subdivision tutorials

    We’re thrilled to share new video-based Alias Subdivision (Subdiv) tutorials with you. We spoke with Randal Ellwood, our Principal Content Experience Designer, about what they are, who they’re for, how you can access them. These videos introduce the Subdivision Workspace and basic subdivision principles. They also share tips on how to incorporate more specific Subdiv tools…


  • Enabling creative innovation in the design studio: Car Design News webinar – October 2 2024!

    We’re thrilled to be doing another webinar with our friends from Car Design News Wednesday October 2, 2024. Phil Botley and Brandon Tasker will be presenting on some of the latest Autodesk solution insights: Register to reserve your spot. https://www.cardesignnews.com/webinars/register-now-enabling-creative-innovation-in-the-design-studio/45935.article Stay tuned for more customer spotlights, industry stories, and product updates. You can also check…