The electronics fair, the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas, is increasingly automotive: a fifth of the exhibition area of this year’s edition, which is held from 5 to 8 January, is linked to companies in the mobility sector , one of the 41 on which the exhibition is divided which has 3,100 exhibitors (in 2020 there were 4,400) with already accredited visitors representing 174 countries. The importance of CES has grown so much as to force the historic Detroit Motor Show, organized for the first time in 1899, just a year after the one in Paris, to “move” in the autumn. The automotive world has increasingly focused on the Nevada event due to the intertwining of connectivity, autonomous driving and infotainment. In response to the possible encroachment of hi-tech giants in their own sector, manufacturers have launched a counter-offensive, partly by seeking alliances and partly by reviewing their offer: no longer just manufacturers, but providers of mobility services.
At the fair in the capital of vice, Mercedes and Audi exalt precisely the technology applied to life on board their vehicles. With the “Tech to desire” approach, the Stuttgart manufacturer aims, among other things, to save time for the occupants even on daily commutes. He announced developments for the North American market in advanced driver assistance systems, a new dimension of in-flight entertainment through cooperation with ZYNC, and extreme sound quality through collaborations with Apple Music, Dolby Atmos and UMG .
With Holoride technology, the house of the Four Rings ensures that it can “redefine in-car entertainment”, as explained by Giorgio Delucchi, Head of Digital Experience/Business at Audi. “Combining real-time vehicle data with virtual content creates a completely new immersive experience. Digitization is an essential element for the continuous transformation of the passenger compartment into a third living space”, insists the manager. Audi claims a record: having preceded other manufacturers in the transfer of entertainment with virtual reality on production cars.
Even Stellantis, which has anticipated the presentation of two new models plus an updated one, has partly concentrated on this aspect with the European Peugeot Inception concept with which, informs a press release, the Lion House “exploits the native electric platforms’ next generation BEV-by-design’ to reinvent the entire automotive experience”. The French house clarifies that it has profoundly redesigned the interior space and reinterpreted the driving gestures around the i-Cockpit with “new digital and physical experiences”.
Externally it speaks of a strengthening of the “most typical traits: the feline posture and the luminous signatures with three claws”. The all-new Ram 1500 in an electric version is an essential variation in order not to debut too late in the zero-emission pick-up segment already dominated by Ford with its Lightning and soon also occupied by General Motors with the battery-powered Silverado. Chrysler has announced that it wants to exhibit the latest evolution of its first electric car, which at CES 2022 was the Airflow, expected on the market for 2025.
The Japanese Honda and Sony have announced that they will exhibit the vision of the first zero-emission model resulting from their joint venture which should lead to the marketing of the car in 2026. With the CEO Oliver Zipse, BMW had already anticipated several weeks ago that it had focused on event in Las Vegas where the “Neue Klasse” platform destined for the future generation of electric cars with the Elica logo makes its debut. An elegant sedan based on the new architecture should be exhibited at CES. Volkswagen will showcase a still disguised declination of the Aero, perhaps the future ID.7.
The Dutch Lightyear will present the “popular” variant (40,000 euros are assumed) of its rechargeable electric vehicle also thanks to the photovoltaic surface. The innovative “concept of future mobility” Climb-E designed by Italdesign (Volkswagen group) and the self-driving, zero-emission mover designed by Pininfarina (Mahindra group) on behalf of Holon, a subsidiary of the German Benteler, arrive from Italy. Hyundai Kia Group showcases ZER01NE, a platform that works to support “creative talent”. The Korean giant offers visibility to 10 start-ups with which it collaborates: since 2018 it has “pampered” 140. Among the suppliers, Bosch focuses on e-bikes.
