2022 CES Summary Report: 6 Trends You Need to Know

The 2022 CES has come to an end. Although it was shortened to 3 days due to the epidemic, the absolute protagonist of this exhibition, the automotive industry, still intensively released a large number of new technologies, new products, and new strategies.

CES has always been regarded as a weather vane for the development of global consumer electronics. Cars, which are traditional means of transportation in people's eyes, are constantly evolving into new species of mobile smart terminals, which also gives people more aspirations and imaginations for future travel.

After sorting out the information released by major automakers and supply chain companies at this CES, Automotive Business Review summarized it into six major trends.

Accelerating electric vehicle strategy

Electric vehicles could account for more than half of global passenger car sales as early as 2026, four years earlier than previously forecast.

The launch of electric vehicle products and aggressive pure electric strategies by major automakers at CES further confirmed this trend.

Mercedes-Benz launched its new all-electric concept car VISION EQXX for the first time in the world at CES. Although the parameters such as a single-charge range of 1,000 kilometers, a drag coefficient of 0.17, and a seamless 47.5-inch ultra-thin integrated screen may not be the first in the industry, combining these elements together represents the future in the eyes of the inventor of the car.

Because compared to another concept car VISION AVTR released by Mercedes-Benz at CES 2020, VISION EQXX is already infinitely close to mass production.

BMW also continues to expand its electrification family.

The BMW iX M60 has a peak torque of over 1,000 Nm and is known as the most powerful pure electric mass-produced model ever produced by the BMW Group. The integration of the BMW i brand genes and the BMW M sports genes has always been one of BMW's strategies in responding to new challenges in the era of electrification.

GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra delivered a keynote speech, using the immersive virtual experience Exhibit Zero to explain the wave of change brought about by the “Ultra Energy Effect” and the company’s latest progress in its transformation into a platform innovator.

Based on the GMC pure electric Hummer, BrightDrop EV600 pure electric logistics vehicle and Cadillac LYRIQ smart pure electric luxury SUV that have been launched on the AutoNergy platform, the Chevrolet Silverado pure electric pickup truck and Cadillac InnerSpace autonomous driving concept car have been added to accelerate the transition to pure electric vehicles.

Volvo has released a new pure electric concept car, Concept Recharge, which is expected to become Volvo's next mass-produced pure electric model.

Stellantis' Chrysler and DS brands respectively brought their own pure electric concept cars and electrification timetables.

Chrysler announced with the Airflow concept car that its first pure electric vehicle will be launched in 2025. In 2028, Chrysler will become a pure electric brand;

DS announced with the E-Tense FE21 racing car that they are fully accelerating their strategic transformation to electrification, and promised that every new model launched by 2024 will be 100% pure electric models with leading technology and exquisite design.

Traditional automakers are accelerating their transformation towards electrification strategies, and new players are also competing to enter the market.

Sony is the most popular.

In addition to the previously showcased Vision S01 and the new electric SUV concept car Vision S02, Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida announced that Sony Mobile will be established to commercialize its electric vehicle business.

Another new entrant is VinFast from Vietnam.

This new car company, which was founded in 2017 and first launched its products at the Los Angeles Auto Show in 2019, has now become an absolute advocate of pure electric vehicles.

Not only did they announce that they would stop producing internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by the end of 2022 and focus on the research and development of pure electric power systems for their vehicles, they became one of the first automobile companies in the world to completely switch to pure electric vehicles.

VinFast has released five pure electric vehicles at once: VF 5 (A-class), VF 6 (B-class), VF 7 (C-class), VF 8 (D-class), and VF 9 (E-class), which were renamed after the transition from fuel vehicles to pure electric vehicles. VF 8 and VF 9 are also available for pre-order in the US market.

At the same time, on the road to electrification, car companies are beginning to pay more attention to energy consumption compared to installing batteries with more power to increase driving range.

Mercedes-Benz's VISION EQXX is a typical example.

The car has an ultra-low drag coefficient of 0.17; a new battery pack that reduces its volume by half and its weight by 30%; a pure electric chassis with a lightweight F1 subframe; Bridgestone Turanza Eco tires with Ologic technology and 20-inch lightweight magnesium alloy forged wheels. This car has almost all the technical applications that can be put on a car to achieve low energy consumption.

At CES, Magna demonstrated EtelligentReach, a new electric vehicle technology similar to the part-time four-wheel drive system of fuel vehicles. It can disconnect the front motor when the vehicle is not needed, reducing the energy consumption of the power system, thereby increasing the electric vehicle's range by 145 kilometers.

Valeo also brought the latest version of its innovative smart cabin heating technology, FlexHeater. This is a new cabin surface heating technology that, combined with the smart air heating system, reduces power consumption by 25% when four passengers are on board and 50% when the driver is driving alone, compared with traditional heating systems, which helps to increase vehicle range.

What a new species should look like

As a new species of mobile smart terminals, you can imagine what future cars will look like.

But at CES, we can already see some positive attempts from the products released by car companies.

First, new materials, especially biodegradable materials, will be used more in interior decoration.

The seats of Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX are made of cactus materials and mycelium, while its carpets are woven from 100% bamboo fiber.

Volvo has previously predicted that by 2025, 25% of its plastics will be based on biomaterials or come from recycled materials; BMW's BMW Vision Circular concept car also proposes that it is 100% made of recycled materials and renewable raw materials and 100% recyclable.

Second, more and more cameras, radars, ultrasonic and lidar sensors are being installed in cars.

Sony's Vision S02 concept car has as many as 40 sensors. It should be noted that previously, both the NIO ET7 and the Feifan R7 had more than 30 sensing hardware. As the saying goes, there is no most, only more.

As L4 autonomous driving becomes a reality, the hardware arms race among automakers continues.

Third, a new experience of sound and color in the electric era.

At CES, BMW brought a series of new technologies and experiences to people regarding the use of future smart electric vehicles.

First of all, it offers four cabin modes, namely, Soothing, Dynamic, Digital Art, and Theater modes, replacing the three modes of Personality, Sports, and Energy Saving proposed at CES in 2020.

Judging from the names, these four modes are no longer based solely on the driving feel, but are based on the sensory experience of both the driver and the passenger.

Each mode is equipped with different sound waves, lighting, atmosphere and pictures. The theater mode is equipped with a 31-inch (about 78 cm) display with a resolution of 8K. This display is installed on the roof and extends from the roof to the back of the front seat when watching.

The Soothing and Joyful modes will be launched via OTA in the second half of 2022.

The sound waves are the second highlight. To match each mode, the cockpit will play different sound waves. These music are not simply simulated fuel car driving sounds, but richer sound effects created by music masters.

The third is in the appearance, the application of body materials, creating a color-changing body.

Using "electronic ink" technology, it contains millions of transparent microcapsules with a diameter only as thick as a hair. Each microcapsule contains negatively charged white pigment and positively charged black pigment. By controlling the electrodes on both sides of the microcapsule, the desired color can appear on the surface of the car body. BMW manufactures "electronic ink" of different sizes according to the changes in the pattern and the curvature of the car surface, and then fixes it on the car, and finally realizes one-click color change through electrode changes.

Fourth, from big screen, to immersive big screen, to everything can be screen, and then to the metaverse.

Whether it is the seamless 47.5-inch ultra-thin integrated screen of the Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX or the triple screen of the Sony Vision S02 concept car, the large-screen design that brings consumers better audio-visual and gaming entertainment experience has always been one of the interior designs advocated by car companies.

Visteon demonstrated its TrueColor image enhancement technology, MicroZone display solution, etc. at CES. Its goal is to enable the digital cockpit to be equipped with a larger, more immersive reconfigurable interface with lower energy consumption and cost.

But is the big screen the end?

The ShyTech interior technology demonstrated by Continental, with the support of flexible invisible technology, is an adaptive invisible screen composed of flexible transparent film. It can be easily integrated with the interior design without being restricted by the interior design.

In the past, wood, carbon fiber, leather or paint on vehicle interior panels can all become screens that clearly display content and automatically adjust in different lighting environments.