For too long, industry conversations have been framed as either/or debates. Is it battery electric or hydrogen? Software or hardware solutions? Autonomous or human-led? Global platforms or regional solutions? But the reality facing mobility leaders today is far more nuanced.
As FISITA President I believe that the challenges confronting our industry are too significant to be solved in isolation. They require collaboration across disciplines, geographies and technologies, bringing together different perspectives to create meaningful progress.
The future of mobility is not a binary choice; it is an integrated portfolio of solutions, evolving at different speeds, across different markets, to meet different societal, environmental and commercial needs. Those needs range from providing safe, accessible and affordable mobility for growing and ageing populations, to reducing emissions and resource consumption, while ensuring businesses can remain competitive, resilient and profitable in a rapidly changing global market. The decisions we make today will shape not only how people and goods move, but also the environmental legacy, economic opportunities and quality of life inherited by future generations. Progress is therefore not simply an industry ambition, it is our responsibility.
The decisions we make today will shape not only how people and goods move, but also the environmental legacy, economic opportunities and quality of life inherited by future generations.
Battery technologies will continue to advance; hydrogen will play an important role; software-defined vehicles and AI are reshaping development cycles; automated driving will arrive through varying levels of deployment and regulation; energy infrastructure will develop unevenly across regions. None of these exist in isolation and they are interconnected parts of a much larger system.
This complexity is not a problem to be eliminated; it is a reality to be embraced.
That is why the theme of the FISITA World Mobility Summit 2026 is “Embracing the Complexities of Mobility.” The Summit will bring together senior technology and engineering leaders from the world’s most influential mobility organisations.
FISITA’s unique community brings together global industry leaders and representatives of engineering societies that collectively connect engineers, researchers and mobility professionals across every major region of the world. It creates a rare environment where leaders can move beyond headlines, challenge assumptions, and explore practical pathways forward.
For organisations looking to shape the conversation, now is the time to engage. Whether through attendance, exhibition participation or partnership, there are only a limited number of opportunities to be part of this highly curated gathering of decision-makers and influencers from across the global mobility ecosystem.
The industry’s biggest challenges will not be solved by choosing one path over another. They will be solved by bringing the right people together to understand how multiple pathways can work together. That’s the conversation we need to have.
See you in Korea.
ChangHwan Kim,
President, FISITA
Executive Vice President, Hyundai Motor Company
For more information about the 2026 FISITA World Mobility Summit visit www.fisita.com/summit
