prove that if CES has become more or less an auto show need for its opening keynote in 2023, hosted by BMW and featuring its color-changing i Vision Dee concept car. Partners on stage included Herbie, Kit and, of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
After the show itself began, traditional giants including BMW, Audi and Volkswagen shared their showrooms with automotive technology companies such as Harman, Tier 2 suppliers such as ZF and startups such as Zero Labs that are electrifying classic cars.There’s even one that sounds like grand tour Only a few years ago, in the form of Sony Honda Mobility and its new car brand Afeela.
With more automotive news coming out this week at CES than at the 2022 Los Angeles Auto Show, it’s no surprise that the future of the traditional auto show is in question. In this episode, automakers and tech companies have grown closer, showing more clearly how they will work together and, most importantly, how they will need each other to survive.
Well, here are WIRED’s automotive tech highlights from CES 2023.
Sony Honda Mobility Afeela
Three years after Sony wowed CES 2020 attendees with its first concept car, the company now has a manufacturing partner and brand name in the form of Honda: Afeela. The first Afeela models will be available for preorder in the US in the first half of 2025, with the first customer cars arriving in spring 2026, Sony said.
Provided by Afeela
Sony said the car on display had 45 sensors, as well as digital displays on the front bumper, lidar for self-driving, and 3D graphics made using Unreal Engine by Epic Games, which is fortniteThe first Afeela cars will apparently use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon “digital chassis,” a new car platform that integrates telematics, connectivity, driver assistance, and autonomy. Other car brands will also use the Qualcomm chassis.
BMW i Vision Dee
BMW showed off a new concept car at CES that can change its exterior color in seconds. The body is covered by panels, just like the screen of your Kindle e-reader. The prototype is available in up to 32 shades, and gradient patterns can be created to blend from one shade to another.
Inside, the i Vision Dee has what BMW hopes will be the future of head-up display (HUD) technology. Instead of a traditional dashboard display, an interface is projected across the windshield, and the driver can choose from five levels of immersion, from a simple, shallow driving and vehicle information strip, to an entire screen showing the virtual world.
