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Events Trade mission

SMMT trade mission to the USA

5–9 October 2026 · Georgia and South Carolina, USA

The UK delegation at the Southern Automotive Conference in Duluth, Georgia, standing in front of the SAC Connected 2026 screen.

ASG joined the SMMT on a mission to the US Southeast, run with the UK Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (DBIST), from 5 to 9 October. The week covered Georgia and South Carolina and combined three things: direct meetings with vehicle makers, visits to automotive research and technology centres, and a tour of a BMW plant.

Six OEM meetings in Duluth

The Georgia leg centred on the Southern Automotive Conference at the Gas South Convention Center in Duluth. ASG held six direct meetings with OEMs there.

That is most of the case for joining a mission like this one. A new in-vehicle architecture takes time to explain, and the conference gave ASG six direct OEM conversations in a few days instead of six cold introductions.

South Carolina: the Upstate and CU-ICAR

In South Carolina the group was welcomed by the Upstate SC Alliance, the region’s economic development organisation, for a welcome briefing.

The delegation seated around a boardroom table at the Upstate SC Alliance, with a presenter beside a welcome slide.
The welcome briefing at the Upstate SC Alliance.
The delegation and hosts in front of the South Carolina crescent and palmetto emblem at the Upstate SC Alliance office.
With hosts at the Upstate SC Alliance office.

The group then visited CU-ICAR, Clemson University’s automotive research centre, for a discussion with the team there, and the Gene Haas Center for Manufacturing Innovation, Greenville Technical College’s facility on the same campus.

The delegation outside the Gene Haas Center for Manufacturing Innovation, Greenville Technical College at CU-ICAR.
Outside the Gene Haas Center for Manufacturing Innovation.
The delegation seated on the wooden stepped seating in the atrium at CU-ICAR.
Inside, at CU-ICAR.

The visit to SCTAC, the aviation technology centre, was relevant beyond cars: ASG also applies to aircraft and robotics.

BMW in South Carolina

The mission ended with a tour of BMW’s manufacturing plant in South Carolina and a discussion with BMW’s senior team. A working plant is the best place to test the harness and control-unit arguments for a zonal architecture against how vehicles are actually built.

The UK delegation with BMW hosts in front of the X sculpture at BMW’s plant in South Carolina.
The UK delegation with BMW hosts at the plant.

If you met ASG during the mission, or work on a platform in the region and want to talk, get in touch.