Preface and Peer Review Statement: Second Sustainable Mobility and Transportation Symposium (SMTS 2025) ^†

1. Introduction

1.1. Conference Introduction

The Second Sustainable Mobility and Transportation Symposium (SMTS 2025) took place in Győr, Hungary, from 16 to 18 October 2025. The symposium was dedicated to showcasing the most recent developments, technological innovations, and scientific achievements in the fields of automotive engineering and transportation systems. Its primary mission was to provide a multidisciplinary platform where experts, researchers, and industry practitioners could exchange knowledge, present emerging trends, and contribute to shaping the future trajectory of sustainable mobility.

Following the event, the symposium was determined to have successfully fulfilled its objectives. The conference provided a comprehensive forum for presenting both domestic and international research results from recent years, ensuring broad academic visibility and knowledge dissemination. In addition, a range of accompanying professional and social events facilitated meaningful networking opportunities, allowing participants to broaden their professional networks, initiate new cooperative relationships, and lay the groundwork for potential joint research activities and future scientific publications.

The symposium was hosted by the Management Campus at Széchenyi István University. Further information can be accessed on the symposium’s website: https://smtsymposium.sze.hu/home.

1.2. Organizers

This interdisciplinary scientific conference was organized by the Audi Hungaria Faculty of Engineering and the Vehicle Industry Research Center at Széchenyi István University.

1.3. Scope and Topics

The symposium’s scope and topics were as follows:

• Vehicle Development
• Diagnostics and Testing
• Material Technology
• Autonomous Vehicle
• Fuel and Lubricants
• Transportation and Logistics
• Electromobility
• Mobility and Society
• AI and Control
• Management
• Manufacturing Technology

1.4. Program and Schedule

The program featured a diverse and carefully structured schedule, consisting of an opening plenary session on the first day, where distinguished keynote speakers presented overarching perspectives on the future of sustainable mobility. This was followed by a high-level panel discussion on the second day, enabling industry experts to exchange views on current challenges, emerging trends, and strategic directions for transportation development. In addition, the event included eighteen thematic technical sessions and a dedicated poster session, providing ample opportunity for researchers to present their latest findings, engage in in-depth discussions, and receive constructive feedback from peers. Details of the program schedule are available at https://smtsymposium.sze.hu/program-schedule-2025.

2. Committee Members

The success of the conference was greatly supported by the committee members and reviewers, whose expertise and dedication were invaluable.

2.1. Organizing Committee

• Gábor DOGOSSY, Full Professor and Dean at the Audi Hungaria Faculty of Vehicle Engineering, Széchenyi István University, HU.
• Boglárka EISINGER BALASSA, Habilitated associate professor at the Department of Leadership and Marketing – Széchenyi István University, HU.
• Szabolcs KOCSIS SZÜRKE, Assistant Professor, Department of Automotive and Railway Engineering, Széchenyi István University, HU.
• Dániel CSIKOR, Research engineer at Vehicle Industry Research Center, Széchenyi István University, HU.
• Rita FÖLDESI, Creative Design Consultant at Vehicle Industry Research Center, Széchenyi István University, HU.
• Andrea VIRÁGH, Faculty Secretary, Audi Hungaria Faculty of Vehicle Engineering, Széchenyi István University, HU.

2.2. Scientific Committee

• József BOKOR, Vice President for Research and Innovation, Széchenyi István University, HU.
• Szilárd ARADI, Associate Professor at Department of Control for Transportation and Vehicle System, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, HU.
• Andrea ÁDÁMÉ MAJOR, Professor at the Department of Innovative Vehicles and Materials, GAMF Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science, Neumann János University, HU.
• Péter GÁSPÁR, Head of the Systems and Control Laboratory, Institute for Computer Science and Control, Hungarian Research Network, HU.
• John Jairo MARTINEZ-MOLINA, Professor at the GIPSA Laboratory, Department of Control System, Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, FR.
• Tamás PÉTER, Research Professor at István Széchenyi University, HU.
• Ferenc György RONKAY, Full Professor at Department of Innovative Vehicles and Materials, GAMF Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science, John von Neumann University, HU.
• Olivier SENAME, Full Professor at Grenoble INP/UGA, FR.
• Zoltán Béla SZABÓ, Head of the Theory of Dynamical Systems Research Group of the Systems and Control Lab of HUN-REN Institute for Computer Science and Control, SZTAKI, HU.
• István SZÁSZI, Representative of the Bosch Group in Hungary and the Adriatic region, HU.
• István VARGA, Dean of the Faculty of Transportation Engineering and Vehicle Engineering, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, HU.

3. Keynote Speakers

The keynote speakers, and their respective topics, were as follows:

• István SZÁSZI (Robert Bosch Kft, HU). Current challenges in automotive world and approaches to overcome them.
• Zoltán DOBRA (Audi Hungaria Zrt, HU). From research to reality: experiences in China’s sustainable mobility and transportation.

4. Panel Discussion

The moderator was

• Barna HANULA (Széchenyi István University, HU).

The participants were as follows:

• Jenő CSANAKI (Stellantis Hungary, HU).
• Szabolcs Nagy (Robert Bosch Ltd, HU).
• Rahul RAZDAN (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, USA).

5. Sponsors

This interdisciplinary scientific conference was supported by Audi Hungaria Zrt and Robert Bosch Kft. Conference organization was financed by the NRDI Fund (National Research, Development and Innovation Office, Hungary) MEC_SZ 149493 project, titled “Sustainable Mobility and Transportation Symposium 2025”. The publication’s appearance was supported by the Széchenyi István University’s VHFO/416/2023-EM_SZERZ project titled “Preparation of digital and self-driving environmental infrastructure developments and related research to reduce carbon emissions and environmental impact” (Green Traffic Cloud).

6. Peer Review Statement

By submitting conference proceedings to Engineering Proceedings, the editors certify that all papers in this volume were subjected to a peer review process. Expert referees conducted these reviews, adhering to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal.

• Type of peer review: single-blind, whereby reviewers know the identity of authors, but authors do not know the identity of reviewers.
• Conference submission management system: open journal system (https://submission.smtsymposium.sze.hu/smt).
• Number of submissions sent for review: 109.
• Number of submissions accepted: 80.
• Acceptance rate (number of submissions accepted/number of submissions received): 73.4%.
• Average number of reviews per paper: 2.11.
• Total number of distinct reviewers involved: 137.

7. Peer Review Criteria and Process

All submitted manuscripts underwent a rigorous preliminary screening process prior to entering formal peer review. This initial assessment included checks for formatting compliance, for language quality—supported by automated grammar evaluation tools such as Grammarly—and for originality and potential AI-generated content using Turnitin. In cases where shortcomings were identified, we requested that authors revise and improve their manuscripts before papers proceeded to the official review stage. As a result, reviewers evaluated refined versions of submissions during the second review round. Each manuscript was assessed by at least two independent experts not affiliated with the conference organizing committee, ensuring impartiality and academic integrity. When deemed necessary, a third reviewer from the conference’s internal expert pool could be assigned. The review process employed a structured evaluation form inspired by those used by MDPI journals, incorporating both a detailed questionnaire and a qualitative assessment section. Reviewers provided recommendations, which served as the basis for the editors’ final decisions.