Next generation of automotive design: what young people learn about electric mobility at the summer camp

The next generation of automotive designers will work in a radically different market than the one that exists today. Electric cars are just the most visible chapter of a much broader transformation: autonomous mobility, connectivity, experience-centered design, and infrastructure integrated with smart cities are redefining what it means to design a vehicle. For teens who want Build your trajectory in this area, understanding these trends before college is not just a differential, it's a prerequisite.

The Future Mobility Concepts module within the Automotive Design Summer Camp, in Milan, was created just for that. In this article, you understand what young people learn about electric mobility and cars of the future, why this knowledge is relevant now, and how it connects with the technical competencies developed in the rest of our exclusive curatorship.

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What is future mobility in the context of automotive design?

Future mobility doesn't just mean “electric cars”. It is a broader concept that encompasses:

• Electrification: electric-powered vehicles, including BEVs (battery), PHEVs (hybrids), and hydrogen vehicles.
• Autonomy: assisted and autonomous driving systems that change the driver's relationship with the car's interior space.
• Connectivity: integration between vehicle, smartphone, city and other transports.
• Shared mobility: usage models (ride-sharing, car-sharing) that change design requirements.
• Sustainability: materials, manufacturing processes, and product life cycle as design variables.

For an automotive designer, understanding these trends is not general culture: it is essential technical vocabulary for the projects that he will develop throughout his career International career.

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Why does electric mobility change car design?

This is one of the most thought-provoking questions that young people explore in the Future Mobility Concepts module. The answer is deeper than it seems. An electric car has no combustion engine, fuel tank, complex transmission, or exhaust pipe. This frees up space, and that freedom changes everything about the design:

1. The front hood may be smaller or non-existent, giving a new aspect to the exterior.
2. The floor, without longitudinal mechanical transmission, can be completely flat.
3. The cabin gains space and can be reimagined as an experience environment, not just a driving environment.
4. With charging instead of fueling, the user's relationship with the vehicle changes, and this impacts how the interior is designed.
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What do young people learn about electric cars in the exchange project?

In the Future Mobility Concepts module, participants explore:

• The technical architecture of an electric vehicle and how it influences design decisions.
• Interior design trends for autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles.
• How brands like Tesla, Rivian, BYD, and the electrical divisions of traditional automakers are approaching design.
• UX (user experience) concepts applied to the car interior: screens, voice interfaces, and haptic feedback.
• Sustainable materials and their application in interior and exterior design.

This learning does not take place in isolated theoretical classes. It is integrated with the practical work of the other modules: when the young person develops the final project, with sketches, digital rendering and clay model, he makes design choices informed by this technological context.

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How do the consultancy tours show the mobility of the future in practice?

One of the great strengths of this experience is that learning about future mobility is not restricted to the classroom. The excursions bring young people into direct contact with companies that are building this future:

• Italdesign (Turin): studio responsible for concept and pre-series projects for brands such as Volkswagen, Audi and Maserati. Students get a closer look at how professional designers work with briefs that include electric mobility and connectivity.
• Pagani Automobili (Motor Valley): Pagani is a fascinating case of how artisanal identity and material innovation coexist. The visit exposes young people to a long-term vision of the role of design as an expression of brand values.
• National Automobile Museum (Turin): seeing the evolution of design over a century puts current trends in historical perspective. Young people understand that electrification is not a rupture, but the continuity of an industry that has always reinvented itself.

To understand the full structure and how these tours integrate with the curriculum: Automotive Design Summer Camp, has all the details.

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What concepts of future cars do young people develop in the final project?

The final project of the program is free within a structured briefing. Young people can propose a vehicle concept that reflects their vision of future mobility. This opens space for proposals such as:

• A compact urban electric car for shared mobility.
• A long-distance vehicle with an interior reimagined for autonomous driving.
• A sustainable design proposal with alternative materials and a reduced life cycle.
• An electric hypercar that balances extreme performance and bold visual identity.

Each project is developed with refined sketches, a complete digital rendering and a 1:10 scale clay model. The result is a concrete work: not a slide presentation, but a physical object accompanied by professional visual documentation.

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Why is understanding electric mobility a competitive advantage for young designers?

The electrical transition is not a trend, it is a confirmed trajectory. The European Union banned the sale of new combustion cars starting in 2035. China, the world's largest automotive market, already has more than 50% of sales of new cars being electric. In the U.S., the Inflation Reduction Act provided billions in incentives for the production and purchase of EVs.

For a young person who will enter the labor market between 2030 and 2035, designing electric vehicles will not be a specialty, it will be the norm. Designers who arrive at college already with technical vocabulary and practical experience in this area have a real advantage in the selection process of competitive universities and, later, in the design studios of large automakers.

The article about What is automotive design and how your child can learn before college explores in more detail the skills that a career requires and how the Milan summer camp fits into this development trajectory.

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Does the Milan show talk about autonomous vehicles?

Yes, and this is one of the topics that most arouses interest among young people. Autonomy, at different levels, from basic assistance to fully autonomous driving, fundamentally changes the relationship between driver and vehicle.

When the driver no longer needs to drive, the car's interior can be designed as a work, entertainment, or rest space. The steering wheel may disappear. The seating arrangement can be rethought. The interface between the user and the vehicle becomes predominantly digital: screens, voices and sensors.

For an automotive interior designer, understanding these scenarios is not futuristic speculation. It's a professional competence that recruiters are already seeking. The Future Mobility Concepts module addresses these scenarios based on real projects from companies such as Waymo, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota, connecting vision of the future with current practical application.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is the electric mobility module technical or more conceptual?

Both of them. Young people understand the basic technical architecture of an electric vehicle, enough to inform design decisions, and work with concepts applied in their projects. It's not an engineering course: it's technology-informed design.

Does my child need to know anything about electric cars before arriving?

No. The program presents the concepts from the introductory level. Curiosity and interest in the topic are the only prerequisites.

Does the show talk about specific brands like Tesla or BYD?

Yes, leading EV brands are used as case study references during the program. The goal is for young people to understand how different brands interpret electrical design in different ways.

Does learning about future mobility have an immediate application for young people?

It has. The final project of the program incorporates this learning: the young person can develop an electric or autonomous vehicle concept as the main delivery. That work goes straight to the portfolio.

Is this electric mobility content updated with the trends of 2026?

Yes. The program is updated annually to reflect the current state of the industry. Visits to companies like Italdesign ensure that young people see what is being designed now.

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Be Easy: your child can be where the future is being designed

In Milan, in July 2026, teenagers from various countries will work with clay, professional software and visits to design studios to understand and design the cars of the future. Na Boutique Exchange Consulting Be Easy, we accompany families who wish to provide their children with this type of experience with planning and full support of a dedicated senior consultant.

If you want to know if the automotive design summer camp is the right step for Start the project of your child now, contact us. Our team is ready to evaluate the profile and guide every detail of this exclusive journey.