Why are So Many Car Companies at the Consumer Electronics Show?

Kicking off the new year this year was the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.  You might expect to find a wide array of gadgetry at this show as different companies and inventors bring their latest electronic creations to the show to display and demonstrate but what you might not expect most of the time is finding a plethora of automobile manufacturers there.  What is going on, why do we see so many automakers showing up at this type of show?  You would think the fact that there are auto shows they would have enough of their own, but there are at least five great reasons to be at CES.

Peer Pressure – If one automaker wants to unveil their newest electronic interior or car of the future that will run basically on air this is the place to show it off. Nearly every automaker is now bringing something to this show which has caused it to need even more square acreage than ever to ensure all the different automakers are able to display their wares.  It’s a copycat industry and no one wants to be outdone, so nearly every automaker finds something they can show off at this show for the techies of the world.

Reveal – What the fact that so many make their way to the show does for us is let us see some new products and alignments earlier than at the auto shows.  For the show this year we saw three new reveals which was the new Chevrolet Bolt, the Faraday Future FFZERO1 and the Volkswagen Budd-e van.  All three of these vehicles are heavily laden with technology and give us a look at what the electric vehicle future may hold, especially from the Faraday Future point of view.

Natural Transition – Cars have gotten more high tech over the years and are connected to more systems than ever so this is really a natural occurrence.  Some cars have more computers operating their systems than you have at your office, which certainly can surprise you and as they become smarter and even more connected there is no reason to think cars won’t be part of this show.  This does give us the chance to see some of the coolest technology for the automotive industry in a setting that isn’t stuck on horsepower or downforce, but rather wants to know how connected the vehicle is and what systems its operating on and making use of.

Collaboration – Whether they want to admit it or not the data and electronic companies of the world need to work together with car companies.  This obviously works both ways, but with the next natural transition for the industry coming in the form of the semi-autonomous driving systems while the fully automatic systems are being developed you can easily see how and why these two industries are now to be joined at the hip.  There will probably never be a separation of the two again and that is certainly to our benefit.  I would expect to see more car companies show up at even more electronic shows going forward.

Commonality- What makes the automotive world and the electronics world extremely similar?  Both have the same type of people.  These people are the dreamers, the creators, the thinkers and the doers who take an idea or a dream and turn it into a reality.  Sometimes this reality isn’t what we want to see as a full production line, but other times the products of these dreams and creations are so amazing you can’t deny the genius of the person who thought them up.

Whether the techies like it or not, the automotive industry is going to keep showing up at CES and other shows each year.  I’m pretty sure they don’t mind at all, considering many of the different features of the automobiles that do make it to the show are there to showcase a wide variety of new and useful technology that is ready to blow our minds.  This partnership between electronics companies and the automotive industry makes for a match made in heaven and one that will continue to give us items that we can barely wait to have make it to production.