Lead With Your Brand is the guiding theme of Automotive Dealer Day 2026, shaping the vision of an industry undergoing profound transformation. In a market marked by new competitive dynamics and evolving business models, brand strength emerges as the key lever to lead change—an expression of entrepreneurial leadership and long-term differentiation.
Quintegia’s event, internationally recognised as a benchmark for automotive retail and the broader mobility ecosystem, will once again bring together dealers, OEMs, executives and opinion leaders in Verona from 19 to 21 May to interpret and anticipate the major transformations reshaping the industry.
The upcoming edition will feature a truly global perspective, with delegations attending from across the world. An institutional session with international dealer associations, focused on the analysis of key global macro trends, sources of instability and their impact on the automotive industry, will set the strategic context. Participants will benefit from multiple opportunities for meaningful exchange, supported by simultaneous translation during workshops, a dedicated international area and targeted networking events.
A major new feature of Automotive Dealer Day 2026 is the introduction of a dedicated focus on corporate fleets, now recognised as a strategic and cross-cutting topic for the entire automotive ecosystem.
““In a context where macroeconomic uncertainty has become structural, our event—now the second largest in the world within the sector—continues to serve as a platform for insight, dialogue and strategic orientation. Geopolitical tensions, the energy transition, new distribution dynamics, margin pressure and technological disruption are redefining the competitive landscape of automotive. Understanding these forces, their global and local impact, and translating them into operational decisions is now a core leadership capability for mobility businesses,” says Tommaso Bortolomiol, CEO of Quintegia.
Throughout the event, industry experts and opinion leaders will take the stage across multiple conference rooms, delivering a comprehensive and distinctive programme designed to address the industry’s most pressing challenges.
Corporate Fleets: a First-Time Focus
Business customers are today one of the most important growth drivers for the market, playing a crucial role in electrification and volume stability. For dealers, fleets are no longer a secondary segment but a strategic development opportunity, requiring dedicated expertise, advanced organisational models, sophisticated CRM tools and a long-term vision.
The programme will explore the role of fleets as a meeting point between OEMs, dealers, companies and mobility operators, highlighting how B2B can become a powerful value driver also within the retail dimension.
Global Economy, Geopolitics and Business Decision-Making
Geopolitical economist Brunello Rosa, CEO of Rosa & Roubini Associates, and geopolitical analyst and reporter Greta Cristini will define the global macroeconomic and geopolitical landscape. Their dialogue will provide an integrated interpretation of megatrends—from interest rates to geopolitical risk—and their tangible impact on markets, supply chains, cybersecurity and corporate strategies.
Retail as the Core of Value Creation and a Lever of Leadership
Automotive Dealer Day places automotive retail at the heart of value creation. The dealership is no longer merely a point of sale, but the space where the brand comes to life through experience, relationships and trust.
Showroom design, advanced customer journeys, service culture and the integration of technology with the human factor will be central themes in a debate that redefines the dealer’s role as the brand’s primary ambassador in the physical world.
OEMs, Network Consolidation and New Industry Equilibria
The consolidation of dealer networks and the growth of large dealer groups through mergers and acquisitions are reshaping power dynamics between OEMs and distribution. The programme will examine when and how consolidation creates real value, and what opportunities emerge for investments in adjacent businesses—from digital services to energy—outlining new partnership models and shared governance structures.
New Brands, Market Compatibility and Portfolio Strategies
The arrival of numerous new automotive brands in the European market calls for increasingly complex strategic choices. The New Brand Observatory will once again provide a structured framework to assess synergies, risks and compatibility between emerging and legacy brands, supporting dealers in building robust, coherent and sustainable brand portfolios.
Data, Forecasting and Competitive Health
From strategic planning to future readiness, Automotive Dealer Day 2026 offers concrete tools to move from reactive management to leadership driven by vision, method and data. Measuring performance, benchmarking against the market and understanding one’s true competitive position become essential steps in guiding investment and growth strategies.
Used Cars and New Profitability Levers
With margins under increasing pressure, operational efficiency becomes a cornerstone of competitiveness. Lean management, process digitalisation, cost control and data-driven culture will be paired with a strategic focus on the used car business—now a structural source of profitability and a testing ground for commercial innovation.
Dealer Brand, People and New Generations
In an increasingly competitive market, building a strong dealer brand emerges as a strategic asset: identity, reputation and consistency become key drivers of protection and growth. At the same time, the programme will address the role of Generation Z, both as customers and as talent, exploring new forms of engagement, intergenerational dialogue and organisational attractiveness.
Artificial Intelligence and Cross-Industry Contamination
Technological innovation will be represented by an in-depth focus on Artificial Intelligence as a concrete lever of competitiveness, with Fabio Moioli, international AI expert and former Head of Consulting at Microsoft.
Alongside technology, the agenda will highlight cross-industry contamination and transversal leadership through Cristina Scocchia, CEO of Illycaffè, who will bring to the automotive world a perspective developed in different sectors—demonstrating that leading with the brand also means looking beyond traditional boundaries.
Automotive Dealer Day 2026 thus confirms itself as a platform for strategic thinking and entrepreneurial leadership, for those who aim to navigate change with identity, method and vision.
