CES 2024 once again proved that the biggest technology show of the year is also now the biggest car show. Taking a step back, the biggest trends in car technology can be broken down into three areas: electrification, new ways to move and the arrival of language-based artificial intelligence in the dashboard.
AI hits the road
Automakers have been working to bring artificial intelligence to the car for over a decade. (Autonomous driving tech, for example, is powered by AI.) However, at CES 2024, the advancements in large language model AI that’s taken the internet by storm is arriving in the dashboard to make talking to your car for voice command and assistance more, for lack of a better term, human.
The German automakers have been the fastest to make announcements in this space. Volkswagen announced a partnership with Cerence to bring ChatGPT to its “Hello Ida” voice assistant system as a free, cloud-based update for drivers of its ID 4 and ID 7 electric cars later this year. BMW paired up with Amazon for its Alexa Large Language Model, while Mercedes-Benz is working with Azure OpenAI. From parts and software suppliers to SoC manufacturers, everyone everywhere was talking about AI in the car.
Soon, rather than memorizing commands like “Navigation” or “Send an SMS,” you may be able to ask your car to “Find a taqueria nearby with good burritos and EV charging nearby, send that to my wife with a text that says ‘meet me there,’ and then start guidance,” and the car will just make it work.
No, it’s not a car, but the Supernal S-A2’s debut is proof that automakers like Hyundai are still rethinking how we’ll move around cities in the very near future.
New EV concepts
There weren’t as many EV concept debuts as you might expect from mainstream automakers — those tend to be spread out over the year at more focused events — but the few we did get were 👨🍳 chef’s kiss.
After joining Sony onstage to update us on the Sony Honda Mobility Afeela EV concept, Honda woke up bright and early on day 2 to pull back the curtain on its two 0 Series EV concepts. The Honda 0 Space-Hub is a spacious, futuristic minivan that transforms the interior into a hub where passengers can interact with each other beneath its massive transparent roof. Its sulky sibling, the Honda 0 Saloon is a low-slung sports coupe with dramatic gull-wing doors. Honda says the Saloon will serve as the basis for a production EV arriving in 2026; let’s hope it still looks this good when it gets here.
Meanwhile, Kia showcased the evolution of its purpose-built vehicle concepts with a trio of Purpose Beyond Vehicle concepts. The PV1, PV5 and PV7 now look more like conventional vans rather than weird autonomous pods and are built around a modular platform and Lego-like accessory system. Kia envisions a future where these PBVs will be infinitely customizable, serving as food trucks, mobile pop-up shops, delivery vans and, of course, cute little minivans.
Watch this: Hyundai Mobion EV Concept Moves Like No Other Car
Movement in all directions
Hyundai’s parts supplier arm Hyundai Mobis wowed showgoers with the Mobion concept, which danced and twirled around on its e-Corner steering system. With highly articulated, independent steering enabling up to 90 degrees of steering angle for all four wheels, the Mobion concept is able to “crab drive” laterally into a parallel parking space, glide diagonally through tight spaces and perform 360-degree, zero radius turns on the spot. Plus, it can pull these maneuvers off on pavement versus the tire-scrubbing tank turn systems demoed on a few electric pickups, which only work on dirt.
The Korean full-court press of CES continued with Hyundai’s advanced air mobility wing showcasing the second generation of its electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, the S-A2 eVTOL. After a bit of a slow start — Hyundai’s first S-A1 electric air taxi was initially projected to start flights in 2023 — Supernal says the five-seat, battery-powered craft will be quietly taking off from urban helipads and blasting over traffic at 120 mph and 1,500 feet as early as 2028.
