The previous chestnut handed round by trade watchers for the previous decade was that CES — one of many world’s largest shopper tech commerce occasions — had changed into an auto present. Maybe even crucial auto present of the 12 months.
And there was ample proof of that. GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra used the CES stage in 2016 to introduce the world to the all-electric Chevrolet Bolt. In 2022, Barra made one other huge splash at CES when she declared that General Motors would promote private autonomous autos by “the center of the last decade.”
Meanwhile, Ram and Chrysler — two American manufacturers owned by Stellantis — have used CES to point out off future EVs, together with the Ram 1500 BEV in 2023.
Ford has been maybe probably the most seen CES exhibitor — a minimum of on the automotive entrance. The U.S. automaker has used CES for a bevy of tech-related bulletins since a minimum of 2011, together with its Smart Mobility Plan in 2015, self-driving automobile ambitions in 2016, future EV lineup in 2017, and its City of Tomorrow imaginative and prescient in 2018 that included constructing a cloud platform with Autonomic for good cities.
This 12 months, not one American automaker may be discovered, until you depend VW Group’s U.S. spinoff Scout Motors. Several Chinese automakers stuffed that void, notably Zeekr, the EV model owned by China’s Geely Holdings. Wey, a premium model underneath Great Wall Motor, and Xpeng additionally had cubicles.
Their absence could possibly be attributed to the traditional product cycle, which in automotive is longer than different shopper electronics, Brian Moody, senior editor for Kelley Blue Book, informed TechCrunch. “It’s cyclical, that’s the boring reply,” he mentioned in a latest interview. “Automaker product cycles are for much longer than shopper product cycles. Building a automobile in the actual world takes longer.”
He additionally mentioned automakers are beginning to rethink their presence at exhibits like CES. “If you’re not producing tens of thousands and thousands of impressions to customers, what’s the ROI?” he mused, including that media fragmentation has contributed to this concern.
Ford spokesperson Alan Hall informed TechCrunch that whereas the corporate doesn’t have an activation (show or information bulletins) this 12 months, “CES stays an necessary present for scouting of recent applied sciences and developments in shopper electronics so we can have a presence with various our engineering, design, provide chain, and product planning group members there.”
Some Ford staff, for example, participated in panel discussions, resembling on the Connect2Car convention.
GM had a small presence by way of a couple of companions, however no talking engagements or sales space, a spokesperson confirmed, noting that with all tradeshows, the corporate evaluates year-over-year and adjusts based mostly on numerous enterprise components and priorities.
Regardless, strolling the ground of West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center — the place just about all automobile tech may be discovered — the dearth of U.S. automakers was notable. The elaborate cubicles showcasing EVs or in-car software program from U.S. firms have been nowhere to be discovered.
Several Chinese automakers stuffed that void, notably Zeekr, the EV model owned by China’s Geely Holdings.
And it prolonged to different automakers like Mercedes-Benz which have historically had giant reveals at CES.
Mercedes made the choice to skip CES after “cautious consideration and analysis of our strategic path for the upcoming 12 months,” spokesperson Patrick Kuom informed TechCrunch, including that the corporate has a presence on the sales space of associate Xperi.
There have been a few automakers there resembling Honda, which showcased its two autos in its upcoming 0 Series in addition to its underlying Asimo working system, and BMW, which revealed extra about its new in-car person interface. Toyota additionally made a splash with its press convention saying it had accomplished the primary part of its dwelling laboratory Woven City and that it was exploring and investing in orbital rockets.
But the primary theme was automated driving and software program — and the legacy automakers didn’t have a lot to point out on that entrance. Instead, firms engaged on automated driving — or the sensors that help it — and software program took up the majority of the ground. AV giants Zoox and Waymo had reveals (together with Zoox robotaxi rides for media) alongside others like May Mobility and Japanese firm Tier IV.
Software and sensor firms additionally abounded together with Aeva, Applied Intuition, and Sonatus — to call only a few.
