Horse Powertrain has won the Sturmey Award at the 2026 Autocar Awards, with judges recognizing the company’s X-Range family of hybrid and range-extender powertrains. The prize, one of the headline honors at the 2026 Autocar Awards, goes to people, companies, or technologies judged to represent the industry’s most significant innovation and achievement. CEO Matias Giannini accepted the trophy from Autocar editor-at-large Matt Prior at the annual ceremony at Armoury House, London.
Highlights
- The Sturmey Award, first presented in 2014, is among Autocar’s most significant annual prizes
- Judges recognized the X-Range powertrain family, which the company says enables automakers to convert BEV-native platforms into HEVs, PHEVs, and REEVs
- CEO Matias Giannini received the trophy from Autocar editor-at-large Matt Prior at Armoury House, London
- Previous winners include Tesla and senior leaders from Aston Martin, Dacia, Polestar, and JLR
X-Range Technology Behind the Win
Judges praised the engineering and innovation behind the company and its products and services. Central to the recognition was the X-Range series of powertrains, which the company says enables automakers to convert BEV-native platforms into hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and range-extended electric vehicles. The award also recognized the company’s work on increasing powertrain thermal efficiency and reducing the carbon intensity of combustion and hybrid vehicles.
Mark Tisshaw, Autocar editor, commented: “Horse Powertrain’s rule-breaking approach is challenging almost every established way of thinking in the automotive game. This unique strategy that focuses on reimagining and advancing the combustion engine is as technically innovative as it is commercially disruptive. In winning this award, we are pleased to recognize the foresight and courage of a company that continues to push forward and champion the combustion engine, even in the face of the wider industry trend towards all-out electrification.”
Accepting the award, Giannini said: “It is a great honour to receive this prestigious award from Autocar and a fantastic recognition of the talented global teams that make up Horse Powertrain. Together, they are delivering the innovations driving the industry towards net zero. As a powertrain solutions partner to numerous OEMs, we remain committed to a culture of innovation that, through our products and systems integration expertise, enables continuous reductions in mobility emissions – whether through electrification, alternative fuels or highly efficient hybrids.”
What Is the Sturmey Award?
The Sturmey Award is named after Henry Sturmey, the founder of Autocar magazine. First awarded in 2014, it recognizes outstanding people, companies, or technologies whose work represents the most significant innovation and achievement in the automotive industry. Previous recipients include Tesla, Aston Martin’s Marek Reichman, Dacia’s Denis le Vot, Polestar’s Thomas Ingenlath, and JLR’s Gerry McGovern.
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