In this edition of CES fresh takes, we’ll focus on the automotive industry. It is very interesting to us as we have the Oulu Automotive Cluster with good amount of dedicated tech companies focusing on new advances with some of the leading brands and bright cluster activities creating true synergy for its members. Industry was very visible at CES this year, we saw new releases, concepts, designs, EV advances and more. Let’s dive in.
One of the biggest manufacturers in the world, Stellantis, made a number of announcements at CES. CEO Carlos Tavares emphasized the company’s focus on software, stating that customers want simplicity and intuitive user interfaces. To meet this demand, Stellantis has partnered with Foxconn, Amazon, and Qualcomm to create three software stacks. The company also announced its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2038, the first in the industry to do so.
Peugeot unveiled the futuristic Inception concept car, which features Stellantis’ new hypersquare steering wheel system. The vehicle has a 100 kWh battery pack, a range of 800 kilometers, and can be charged in just 30 minutes. It also has a fully autonomous mode, with the steering wheel folding away and a large panel opening for passengers. The seats even have air modules that adapt to the user’s personal needs for the ultimate travel experience.
RAM also released the fully electric Revolution 1500 pickup truck, which has a fully autonomous mode and can follow the owner on foot in “shadow mode.” CEO Mike Koval stated that the company plans to go fully electric for the full-size pickup and utility vehicle segments in the future. Stellantis also announced a partnership with Archer, a company working on electric aircraft, further expanding the company’s reach.
BMW revealed the i Vision Dee concept car, complete with a “mixed reality slider” head-up display featuring four levels of interaction. The display shows drive and navigation data, handles communication through text messages and calls, augments navigation data with collision warnings and highlighted obstacles, and even allows virtual socialization with friends while driving. CEO Oliver Zipse stated that BMW is combining software and hardware development for a seamless digital experience.
Aside from these releases, numerous stakeholders in the automotive industry participated in CES. The event demonstrated the industry’s focus on electric and autonomous vehicles, as well as the integration of software and hardware for a seamless user experience.
Big tech giants and system integrators were showing dedicated solutions on sensors, processors, connectivity, entertainment systems, EV power systems, also hydrogen power trains, and so on to be integrated in vehicles. With the push towards carbon neutrality and the increasing use of AI and other technologies, the future of the automotive industry looks bright.
And surely there were more than just cars. The products varied from smart e-bicycles to e-motorcycles (check out the Verge, Finnish manufacturer!) to tractors and boats and even gigantic next-generation Caterpillar dump trucks.
Our take from this theme is that the software is the key. It is so fascinating how every core technologies that are booming right now in Oulu are so relevant in the automotive business, and for sure these will make our future driving experience much better! Now it is only about identifying those global value chains and pushing our expertise into them. Please do contact our Oulu Automotive Cluster https://automotive.oulu.com staff for learning more and joining that movement!
And lastly, here you can find a collection of images describing what was showcased in automotive field in its variety.
