“We’re not attending.” “There won’t be any media activities this year.” “We will not be at [the Consumer Electronics Show] CES, as such.”
Over the past 10 years, the Consumer Electronics Show has become something of a de facto car show. The event, held annually in January in Las Vegas (far more a business conference town these days than it is Sinatra’s sin city of old) is the home of the tech companies, both the vast conglomerates and the tiny start-ups. Games and gaming consoles, phones and tablets, laptops and tellys — many of the biggest and most significant tech of the year is launched at the CES.
No wonder, then, that carmakers began to flock there. Car companies want to be seen as tech companies which also dabble in hot, oily stuff (it looks better for investors, if nothing else) and they also want to woo the kinds of tech-savvy, high-spending punters who might show more of an interest in the CES than they would in traditional motor shows.
This is not how it was. BMW debuted its gorgeous i-Vision Dee concept at the CES last year
This year, though? This year seems a bit barren with the likes of Ford (which is only “supporting Google at the event where there will be a Mustang Mach-E on display demonstrating EV Routing capability added to Google Maps” according to a spokesperson), BMW, Audi, and all of the Stellantis Group brands staying away.
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This is not how it was. BMW debuted its gorgeous i-Vision Dee concept at the CES last year (along with its digitally switchable colour schemes and wall-to-wall head-up display; the car evolved into the Neue Klasse concept which was shown at the Munich motor show in October) while the likes of Volkswagen, Audi, and Toyota have all broken big news there before.
For 2024, the only major motoring news for the CES (and bear in mind that this is being written before the show opens — there’s always the chance of a surprise being sprung) is that Honda is going to show off the start of a new electric car family.
So far, we’ve only seen a close-cropped, darkened shot of what appears to be a 1970s-supercar-style shovel nose, hugging tight to the ground in front of it. If Honda wants to make us an all-electric NSX successor, then we’re all ears, but the likelihood is that this is a pure concept car, and the more important stuff lies beneath.
Honda will have the new all-electric Prologue SUV at the show, but this is hardly a debut as the car has already been seen. It’s also largely not a Honda, as it uses a bought-in ‘Ultium’ battery and platform from US carmaking giant General Motors.
However, in October Honda announced that the much-ballyhooed collaboration with GM on EVs was coming to an end and that the Prologue will likely be the only production Honda to feature American electric underpinnings. So the CES concept could be quite significant, not least because Honda refers to it as the precursor to a whole global family of electric cars. That would be nice, from an Irish and European perspective, as the existing Honda EV lineup here — the tiny and short-ranged Honda E city car, and the Eny:1 crossover — have hardly set the electric world alight.
Hyundai will also be attending CES 2024, but at the time of writing its plans are still under wraps
The new EV lineup is part of Honda’s plans to: “Realise carbon neutrality for all products and corporate activities Honda is involved in by 2050. To this end, the company is pursuing electrification to achieve its automobile electrification target of increasing the ratio of EV and FCEV sales to 100 per cent globally by 2040.” This means that, like BMW and Toyota, Honda hasn’t given up on hydrogen power.
Hyundai will also be attending CES 2024, but at the time of writing its plans are still under wraps. We do know, though, that the display will put a little more detail on Hyundai’s previously stated plans to develop “Software-Defined Vehicles” or SDVs. These plans include a replacement for the current, and hugely impressive, E-GMP electric car platform (you’ll find it under the likes of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6, and the Kia EV6 and EV9) which are expected to see one-charge ranges climb by as much as 50 per cent compared to current models.
If the 50 per cent increase in range figure is accurate, it would suggest one-charge ranges of about 750km for SUV and crossover models, and as much as 800-900km for lower, sleeker cars such as the Ioniq 6 and its eventual replacement.
It’s the software that’s the critical bit here, as Hyundai isn’t talking about stuffing these new platforms with ever-bigger batteries, but instead maximising their efficiency. Much of that efficiency will come from software. Indeed, Hyundai says that from 2025 onwards, its cars will be “software-defined”.
“By transforming all vehicles to Software Defined Vehicles by 2025, Hyundai Motor Group will completely redefine the concept of the automobile and take the lead in ushering in a never-before-experienced era of mobility,” said Chung Kook Park, president and head of research and development at Hyundai. “Creating visionary vehicles empowered with the ability to evolve through software will enable customers to keep their vehicles up to date with the latest features and technology long after they have left the factory.”
This will give Hyundai access to what will effectively be a massive, mobile data farm
Hyundai has already introduced software over-the-air (Sota) capability to some of its models, allowing them to download new and upgraded software, sat-nav maps and so on, usually overnight and while plugged in. By 2025, Hyundai says that all of its cars will be Sota-ready, and by that stage, it anticipates that some 20 million cars worldwide will be signed up to its online services programmes.
This will give Hyundai access to what will effectively be a massive, mobile data farm. With 20 million cars, driving around, generating terabytes of data each day on battery life, driving conditions, safety systems, traffic flows and so much more. Hyundai is teaming up with tech giant NVIDIA to help crunch all this data and will use so-called artificial intelligence systems to help it do so.
Ultimately, the idea is that the data and the software updates become a feedback loop, with cars kept constantly updated to improve their physical performance and their digital agility. There is even the potential for creating personalised software for each driver, the better to augment their driving and ownership experience. Oh, and it goes beyond mere trifles like improving battery life or giving you an upgraded instrument display. Hyundai is talking about fully integrating its software with the likes of parcel delivery services (so that you can get packages delivered directly to your car, rather than waiting at home for them), and hotels and accommodation services so that you can book as you drive.
Or even as you don’t drive … “Hyundai Motor Group’s data platform will not only be simply for driving. It will also play an important role in enhancing the convenience and diversity of the customer’s mobility experience by engaging throughout the vehicle’s entire life cycle,” said Eunsook Jin, Hyundai’s head of ICT innovation. “We’ll also help create a new mobility ecosystem, connecting cars with other mobility devices, based on data connectivity and scalability.” By ‘other mobility’ devices, Jin means other Hyundai products. Hyundai already makes buses, but the firm is also working on next-gen transport systems such as autonomous air taxis and even robotic delivery dogs [yes, really].
Hyundai will also show what will inevitably be called a “flying car” at CES 2024, but which is more of a drone taxi, essentially a short-ranged personal electric helicopter, which has been developed by its subsidiary Supernal. Kia, Hyundai’s sister brand, will also be at the CES with what’s being called as PBV — a purpose-built vehicle — which in theory allows each car to be tailored to a person or company’s specific needs, all based on a common electric skateboard chassis. The PBV model will be aimed at robotaxi and ride-sharing companies, as well as delivery firms.
Speaking to Automotive News, Kersten Heineke from analysts McKinsey and Co, said: “I think a lot of the innovation that we see in the automotive industry is being driven by the suppliers, and more and more the startup ecosystem. So I think that [CES 2024] is a chance for these players to shine more and more. These innovations will then eventually become part of the cars that we buy.”
While the carmakers themselves are staying away from the CES this year, for the most part anyway, there will be technology on show which will find its way into your next car
Big tech and engineering suppliers will be out in force at CES, including Continental Group (better known for its tyres, but also a major supplier and components and in-car technology) which will show off a dramatic 180-degree steering system, as well as a “failsafe” mode for autonomous vehicles, and new “seamless” in-car screens. Magna — the huge Canadian-based supplier and contract carmaker — will show off products and services aimed at the big carmakers, from safety and self-driving to electrification. “With expertise across nearly every area of the vehicle, the CES presents a great opportunity for us to demonstrate what’s possible as we move towards a safer and more sustainable future,” Eric Wilds, Magna’s head of sales and marketing told The Irish Times. “Whether it’s with our established industry customers or new entrants across all aspects of mobility, we are well positioned to support the industry’s transformational needs.”
So, while the carmakers themselves are staying away from the CES this year, for the most part anyway, there will be technology on show which will find its way into your next car, or maybe the one after that. Don’t think that this is a wholesale abandonment of the CES by car companies, though. While the traditional all-car motor show demonstrated in 2023 — in Munich and Shanghai — that it still has some life left, the CES will continue to be a big gig for things with wheels. Indeed, one BMW insider said: “Next year will be a big one.” The build-up to CES 2025 starts here.
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