DIFA 2026 Opens in Daegu, Showcasing Autonomous Driving, EVs and Software-Defined Vehicles

DIFA 2026 Opening Ceremony at EXCO in Daegu | Photo – AVING News

Daegu Mayor Kyungho Choo and Other Dignitaries Tour DIFA 2026 | Photo – AVING News

Exhibits at the Daegu International Future Auto & Mobility Expo 2026 | Photo – AVING News

Exhibition Floor at DIFA 2026, Held at EXCO in Daegu | Photo – AVING News

Dignitaries Tour DIFA 2026

Held Oct. 21–24 at EXCO, DIFA 2026 brings together global automakers and technology companies to showcase electrification, autonomous driving and SDVs.

SEOUL, GYEONGGI-DO, SOUTH KOREA, October 26, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The Daegu International Future Auto & Mobility Expo 2026 (DIFA 2026) opened Wednesday, Oct. 21, at EXCO in Daegu, bringing technologies from electrification and autonomous driving to software-defined vehicles (SDVs) together for four days through Saturday, Oct. 24.

Daegu Metropolitan City, led by Mayor Kyungho Choo, is co-hosting the expo with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources. It is a B2B platform dedicated to mobility and is held as part of the Future Innovation Technology Expo 2026 (FIX 2026), an integrated exhibition of four new industry sectors that also includes the Daegu International Robot Expo (ROBEX), the Korea ICT Convergence Expo (ITCE) and startup exhibitions such as PNP Korea Expo & Startup Arena.

About 100 people attended the opening ceremony, including Kyungho Choo, mayor of Daegu Metropolitan City; Yongseok Kim, chairperson of the Metropolitan Transport Commission; Jungwoo Ha, vice chairman of the Presidential Council on National Artificial Intelligence Strategy; Inhwan Lim, chair of the Daegu Metropolitan Council; Jaejoon Woo, a member of the National Assembly; Eunhee Kang, superintendent of the Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education; Seok Cho, vice chairman of HD Hyundai; Wansoo Kim, CEO of HD Hyundai Robotics; Youngmin Kwon, CDO of Doosan Robotics; Hangsoo Lee, vice president of Hyundai Motor Company; Brian McMurray, president of GM Korea Technical Center (GMTCK); and Kyujin Cho, a professor at Seoul National University.

After the ceremony, the guests followed a line tour of the main exhibition areas. The tour began at the Urban Air Mobility (UAM) special pavilion, where an aircraft from Germany’s Volocopter is on display. It continued to Hyundai Motor Company, which presents an autonomous firefighting robot and its autonomous-driving AI, AtrIA AI; NT1 (Neorix), which demonstrates its autonomous delivery vehicle RoboVan; HD Hyundai Robotics, which displays a dual-arm robot; Doosan Robotics, which introduces Scan&Go, a CES 2026 Best of Innovation Award winner; and MegazoneCloud, which describes itself as Asia’s largest cloud management specialist.

The expo was organized to survey technology trends in a mobility industry that is changing fast, with vehicles becoming electrified, more intelligent and more software-centered, and to support technology exchange and business cooperation among related companies. Its exhibition areas are green mobility and future vehicle technology, and secondary batteries, electronic components and related services.

Hyundai Motor Company and GMTCK have booths, along with leading regional mid-sized companies including SL Corporation, Sambo Motors, PHC, Kyungchang Industrial Co., Ltd. and L&F. Global mobility companies such as Mercedes-Benz, Zeekr, Neorix, Volocopter and DAS are also taking part.

Hyundai Motor Company is unveiling AtrIA AI and Pleos, results of its work on next-generation autonomous-driving technology. RideFlux and Mars Auto are presenting an autonomous trailer (truck), a key part of Daegu’s logistics autonomous-driving demonstration project. China’s Neorix is exhibiting its unmanned autonomous RoboVans, the N3 and N6. Traditional manufacturing parts makers also stand out: SL Corporation demonstrates a robotic smart factory process, Sambo Motors shows a scaled-down B-33-x UAM aircraft and a B-23-M multipurpose drone, and PHC exhibits robot components and high-output inverters.

Mayor Kyungho Choo of Daegu and other dignitaries tour the exhibition hall at the opening ceremony | Photo – AVING News
Mayor Kyungho Choo of Daegu and other dignitaries tour the exhibition hall at the opening ceremony | Photo – AVING News
From Electrification to Autonomous Driving and SDVs, Future Vehicle Technology Comes Together

Visitors can see technologies for eco-friendly mobility, including electric vehicles (EVs), hydrogen vehicles, hybrid vehicles, electric motorcycles, electric buses, specialty vehicles and personal mobility (PM).

In future mobility, the main exhibition areas are autonomous vehicles, autonomous-driving artificial intelligence (AI) and software (SW), sensor and communications technologies, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), UAM and Mobility as a Service (MaaS) platforms.

SDV technology, which underpins the auto industry’s shift toward software, is another focus. As technologies that implement and update vehicle functions through software spread, vehicle system software, electronic control units (ECUs), automotive semiconductors and cybersecurity are becoming more important.

The show also covers technologies that make up the future vehicle supply chain: secondary batteries and battery packs, battery materials, components and equipment, battery recycling, electric motors, charging services and infrastructure, and hydrogen fuel cells.

Companies Look for Technology and Business Partnerships as the Auto Industry Shifts

DIFA 2026 was planned as a specialized exhibition that goes beyond product displays, giving automakers, parts companies, technology companies and research institutes a place to look for the technologies and business opportunities they need to respond to changes in the future mobility industry.

The auto industry is shifting from a mechanical and parts industry centered on internal combustion engines to a convergence industry that combines electrification, autonomous driving, AI and software. As a result, cooperation among battery, semiconductor, communications, sensor, data and software companies, as well as carmakers and parts suppliers, is emerging as a factor in industrial competitiveness.

For autonomous driving, SDVs and electrification in particular, the performance of individual parts matters, but so do integration of the whole vehicle system, safety, and the ability to manage software updates and data. Sharing technology and finding new opportunities for cooperation are regarded as core tasks in building a future vehicle industry ecosystem.

DIFA 2026 is expected to serve as a forum where companies and industry officials can follow technology trends as domestic and international future vehicle technologies, parts and services are introduced.

Visitor experience programs have also been strengthened. At the UAM immersive zone, visitors can board Germany’s Volocopter aircraft, VoloCity, and try a VR flight experience. They can also board an electric aircraft from TOP Mobility and test drive electric vehicles from Mercedes-Benz and BYD.

“This exhibition is a place to see in one spot the changes that industry and technology are creating as they converge around AI, and the new possibilities for future industries,” Choo said. “We will do our best to nurture new future industries and support companies’ challenges and innovation so that technological progress leads to industrial growth and a better life for citizens.”

DIFA 2026 introduces technologies and products for the future auto and mobility industries. It runs from Oct. 21 to Oct. 24 in Halls 4, 5 and 6 of the East Hall at EXCO, Daegu. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Daegu Metropolitan City co-host the expo, and EXCO, the Korea Intelligent Automotive Parts Promotion Institute, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and the Korea Commission for Corporate Partnership organize it. Companies and institutions in future mobility are taking part to present industry technology trends, products and solutions.

Davis Kim
AVING News
+82 2-856-3276

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