Cars at CES: Vegas instead of full throttle

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Togg SUV

Photo:

Thomas Geiger

Of course, Gary Shapiro imagined it differently: The host of the world's largest electronics fair CES in Las Vegas is building a new, huge exhibition hall for the automotive industry - and then Corona is getting in his way for the second time.

Despite the huge, empty carpet desert, the President of the Consumer Technology Association may be reassured: As announced, Ford, Toyota or the VW Group are missing, and Mercedes and General Motors switched to digital presence shortly before the start of the trade fair.

But Shapiro has more innovations from the PS industry to offer in Las Vegas than all of the established auto shows of last year put together.

These include vehicles such as the Chrysler Airflow, the Chevrolet Silverado or the efficiency world champion Mercedes EQXX, some presented in the live stream, some in person.

The CES not only overtook the US trade fairs in Detroit and Los Angeles.

With its unconditional orientation towards the future, it also makes the green painted IAA in Munich appear like a retrospective of mobility.

This is only a little bit due to the electric drive, which has dominated Las Vegas for a long time.

Even the Bugatti Chiron, as one of the last combustion engines at the CES, only adorns a new e-scooter, which is presented in the name of the luxury brand.

And the automotive energy turnaround doesn't always come across as aloof: When General Motors boss Mary Barra shows the electrified Chevrolet Silverado pick-up, the message of change could reach the average American as well.

Not much is triggered by all the new players who are pushing onto the streets: from tech giants like Sony to players like Vinfast from Vietnam and Togg from Turkey.

Music, on the other hand, can be felt as the automation of driving continues to advance.

Two thirds of motorists, the trade fair people found out, would like to be chauffeured by their car.

With numerous prototypes from sensor and software manufacturers, as well as autonomous pods and robot cars, this vision is already quite tangible in Las Vegas.

In addition, the autopilot is now conquering the hallway after the road - with mobility robots for the last mile.

Suppliers take away the fear of losing control of the exhibition guests during demo trips and offer them new experiences: Constantly larger screen landscapes, closer networking with the outside world as well as with the digital cosmos.

In addition, there is more and more internet content - the driver shouldn't get bored even if she is only a passenger.

This should make the car even more attractive. The industry paints a rosy picture of what could come. "The time when we only imagined the future is over," says GM boss Barra. "Now we're starting to build it." Anyone who looks around the fair will notice that with its bold optimism, it speaks for the entire industry.

Yes, the Teslas have meanwhile spread in California or New York.

But if America is really to become fully electric, it needs other cars than the Model S or the Model Y. Pick-ups are still at the top of the registration statistics.

After the newcomer Rivian and market leader Ford, General Motors has now electrified its bestseller and electrified the

for the CES .

The number two among the US approvals comes in a good year and a half with a range of up to 600 kilometers and should start at around 40,000 dollars.

After the first two electric cars from the fair in Los Angeles, the newcomer

has unveiled three more Stromers in Las Vegas (pictured: the

. The Vietnamese are expanding their range from small cars to luxury SUVs. All but the entry-level model will be launched in Germany this year and will not cost more than comparable combustion engines. However, the battery is only available for extra money, as a lease. The VF8, for example, which plays in a league like the BMW iX3, starts at around 43,000 euros. More exciting than the Vinfast cars at CES, however, is another piece of news that company boss Le Thi Thu Thuy had in his luggage: After the main plant in Vietnam and a factory in the USA, Vinfast plans to open a plant in Germany by 2025 and up to 250,000 there Build cars for Europe.

With the reinvention of the car, new players are entering the stage - also from other industries. Electronics

has already unveiled its second concept car after two years at CES - the

. The SUV for the upper middle class is drawn similarly to Tesla's Model 3, but promises more diversion inside with infotainment and huge screens. Technically, the supposedly independently developed S-02 is also state-of-the-art - and drives up to 180 km / h with two 200 kW motors. Admittedly, no one at Sony has been able to elicit a statement about the specific plans in the auto business. But the Japanese would probably not build two cars and commission suppliers like Magna to carry out extensive tests if they were not half serious.

Big cinema at

: The Bavarians don't want to unveil

the new

until later in the year. But at CES they give an idea of ​​what backbenchers will see in the car. For the first time in a production model, they can fold a huge screen from the ceiling and watch films there in Cinemascope. The

impresses

with its 8k resolution and width of 31 inches. On top of that, BMW has integrated Amazon Fire for the first time and can stream so much TV content into the rear. The driver, however, is doubly pinched. Not only does he not see the broadcast. At the same time, the huge screen blocks his view to the rear.

A car from Turkey?

Although the country has long been one of the largest car manufacturers in Europe, it does not have its own brand.

Mehmet Gürcan Karakas wants to change that.

The former Bosch divisional director leads the

.

It was founded by five industrial partners and wants to start with cars that are primarily based on software.

The Turks have developed a compact SUV with a range of up to 500 kilometers around a greatly simplified electronic architecture - and built a factory for up to 175,000 cars a year.

It is expected to start production by early 2023.

The vehicles are to come to Germany at the beginning of 2024.

Togg is showing a neat study in Las Vegas.

It could be launched after an already developed sedan and a five-door hatchback.

No, the tractor in the picture is not a holdover from the trade fair setup. The giant

tractor is rightly in the spotlight at CES. After all, the agricultural giant wants to use it to bring autonomous driving into series production before the car manufacturers, as early as this year. The green giant from the

series is equipped with so many cameras and so much electronics that the farmer only has to drive it into the field. There the autopilot takes over and does the real work.

Once the car is autonomous, many people will probably no longer own it, they will just use it. The layout of the vehicles could change from a car to a pod, then there would be a base and an exchangeable capsule. Something like that can be seen in Las Vegas - for example in the form of the

, with which the

subsidiary Mobis wants to roam through cities in the future. Without a guide and particularly manoeuvrable thanks to swiveling wheels, in the Koreans' vision, hundreds of them will soon be driving through the cities, making taxis and city buses superfluous.

Waymo

and the Chinese Geely brand

working on the autonomous car for shuttle and taxi operations. Now they have presented a van developed for this purpose in the vicinity of the CES, which is to be offered exclusively in the so-called ride hailing business. The developers are apparently not yet entirely sure of the possible degree of autonomy - as a precaution, they are equipping the

of tomorrow with a steering wheel and pedals.

This one would have what it takes to be the star of the CES. In view of the spectacular aerodynamic design, the extremely efficient drive, a record-breaking range of real 1000 kilometers and the next generation of infotainment, no other exhibition car would have outshone the

. But for fear of Omikron, the Swabians canceled their trade fair appearance and missed the big mark with a world premiere the day before the show. The Silver Arrow may have attracted a lot of attention for Generation E on the Internet, but it was practically not an issue at the trade fair. Mercedes will be able to get over it. The EQXX will make its grand entrance in the spring, when it has to keep the promise of record range on a long-distance journey in Europe.

A car like a chameleon: a special

can change its color at the push of a button and adopt different patterns in black and white. The electric off-road vehicle is completely covered with e-ink film, which is used in e-readers. Of course, it's a gimmick - it's hard to imagine anyone spending any money on it. The Bavarians have not transferred electronic book printing to the car without any further meaning. Switching between white and black can regulate the heating of the electric car in the sun. The progress of loading can also be illustrated via the color level. In the case of taxis or car sharing, advertising messages and driving instructions can be displayed.

Tesla stands for luxury in the new world, Mercedes for comfort in the old -

, on the other hand, may not find its place. But with the Lyriq, the US brand will also be electric in a few months. A purely electric sedan in the format of the S-Class will then come next year. The

Americans are spinning the thread further with

: the study, which is only presented virtually in Las Vegas, not only runs on electricity, but also runs autonomously. That is why it offers video projections and a wellness coach under its folding glass dome.

Of all the big brands,

has been the least energized to date.

Slowed down by the electroskepticism of the former CEO Sergio Marchionne, the American Fiat sister company has held on to the combustion engine.

That is changing under the umbrella of the Stellantis Group - the

is a sign of this.

With a range of 400 kilometers and a battery capacity of almost 120 kWh, it will be the first mass-market electric car from the US brand to be launched by 2025.

Many car manufacturers will continue to play by the old rules in 2022.

That's why a good six months after the iX,

is now coming up with an M version of the electric SUV.

It could be aimed at high earners with poor climate awareness.

costs a whopping 130,200 euros

,

the output of the two electric motors increases by 70 to up to 455 kW compared to the previous top model.

The maximum torque is even more impressive: with up to 1100 Nm, it reaches four-digit values ​​for the first time in a road-legal BMW.

No wonder that the Bavarian pushes hard and, despite its 2.5 tons, can reach 100 km / h in 3.8 seconds.

The frenzy continues on request: instead of 200, 250 km / h are now possible.

Because the battery has a capacity of 111 kWh, the iX still drives 566 kilometers - at least in theory.