PACE Award

The focus of the award is an innovation (i) developed primarily by a supplier, (ii) that is new to the automotive industry, (iii) that is in use (e.g., used on a vehicle in production), and (iv) that "changes the rules of the game".

[1] Among the most awarded companies over the years are BorgWarner, Delphi Automotive, Federal-Mogul (acquired in 2018 by Tenneco), Valeo and PPG Industries as well as Robert Bosch GmbH, Gentex Corporation, and Siemens.

[3] Historically the annual award cycle began with gathering applications (through the end of summer, with online submissions); the selection of 30-35 finalists, who were announced at the auto industry's annual Global Leadership Conference in October at the Greenbrier; site visits by judges in November and December; the selection of winners in late January or early February; and the announcement of winners at a black tie event in Detroit in March or April.

"[4] Similarly, David Andrea notes in Forbes that: "While the popular press is having an interesting debate on whether Detroit or Silicon Valley will have the greatest influence over the mobility revolution, the 2019 PACE awards are dominated by the suppliers with the deepest R&D capabilities and longest histories of commercializing innovation.

Perhaps this is the result of selection bias as the process to submit applications, meet with judges, produce promotional materials and the like is not small in budget of executive time and funds, two resources always in short supply in smaller firms or start-ups."