8 new things you need to see from CES 2023 | GRR | FOS Future Lab
More and more, as each year passes and as the worlds of the tech and motor industry collide, the Consumer Electronics Show is becoming a car show. It’s always a bit of fun to see what car manufacturers are going techy, what tech brands are dipping their toe into the motor industry and what names are teaming up to share their relative industry expertise. In ways CES feels like old-school car shows, given some of the crazy machinery that shows up. In our list of CES 2023’s best motoring picks, we’ve got a little bit of all of the above. Let’s get into it.
Peugeot Inception Concept
Probably the design delight of CES was the Peugeot Inception Concept, mixing elements of the classic 504 Coupe and 99X8 Le Mans racer into a futuristic sci-fi flavoured broth. On the one hand it’s a design indicator for where Peugeot wants to head going forward, especially where it comes to the ‘BEV-by-design’ look that capitalises on being solely an electric car. On the other, it’s a demonstration of intent for the marque to build bigger cars – could it signal the return of the classic large soft French saloon? Lord we hope so. From a tech standpoint, the Inception demonstrates level four autonomous capability and the amazing STLA-powered cockpit featuring the innovative ‘hypersquare’ steering wheel.
Mercedes charging network
We open with the outstanding news that Mercedes-Benz plans to take on Tesla, not just as a carmaker, but as a parent to a charging network. High-ups at the marque have said they “won’t wait and see” where it comes to existing infrastructure. In other words, Merc’s going all ‘if you want something done right, do it yourself’. It rightly notes that, as with Tesla, a charging network will give distinction to its products, even if unlike Tesla, Mercedes plans on sharing access with other non-Mercedes EVs. Mercedes wants to build more than 1,500 sites and 10,000 high-power (up to 350kW) chargers the world over, starting with 400 sites in America. We can’t wait to see what it comes up with.
BMW iVision Dee
BMW’s CES concepts have until this point left enthusiasts a little cold, with nondescript bloblike shapes seemingly prophetic of a emotional design- and passion-lite motoring future. The i-Vision Dee however, in appearance at least, has given a ray of hope, with its retro-futuristic ‘60s-influenced take on the three-box saloon of the near future. We say near, as there’s a strong chance this concept shows where BMW wants to take the all-electric 3 Series design-wise. Because it’s BMW Concept at CES, it has some truly wacky features, including crazy colour-changing E-Ink panels, a fully augmented reality-capable cabin and its very own animated avatars. It also previewed BMW’s next-generation Advanced Head-up Display, going into production cars from 2025.
Honda-Sony Afeela
New this year in terms of collaborations, is the Afeela, a teamup between Honda and Sony to build a car. The Japanese super duo have created a streamlined all-electric saloon in the footprint of the Hyundai Ioniq 6 and Tesla Model 3. In terms of the motoring stuff – battery, motors, platform – there’s very little information, but in terms of tech? Well, it’s a veritable Sony-fest, with the “Media Bar” at the front showing charge status, weather, digital artworks and more. Then on the inside its screen city, with a width-spanning dash display along with screens for the wing cameras on either side and a supporting augmented reality display. There are some physical controls, weirdly, with an iDrive-esque rotary controller. In the back, two enormous panels entertain the main passengers, each with Unreal Engine power to turn the rear of the cabin into an “entertainment and emotional” space. The immense computing power of the Afeela supports a suite of 45 sensors and cameras for level three autonomy and is capable of 800 trillion operations per second. Jinkies!
Qualcomm Snapdragon Digital Chassis
Microchip masters Qualcomm came to CES 2023 with a concept car too, although it didn’t team up with a carmaker to develop it, not even Ferrari, who it’s sponsored over the last few years in F1. Instead this concept is a trend-following crossover, albeit with some curious touches – plenty of LED lighting, suicide doors (hello, Purosangue?) and a cabin lit up like an apple store. Indeed there’s a 55-inch dash display to distract you from the yoke steering wheel. This isn’t a car intended for production however, nor is it here to even suggest any aspirations of Qualcomm’s to actually go into carmaking. It is however a demonstrator of the company’s Snapdragon Digital Chassis, which it would very much like to sell en masse into the car industry. This car teases the future of digital individualisation and car connectivity, with AI-powered driver recognition, voice controls and a whole suite of apps. If you think cars are digitised now, Qualcomm sees a doubling-down in the future and wants to lead the charge.
Fiat Metaverse
Fiat got weird at CES with the debut of its Metaverse Store, a world-first metaverse-powered interactive showroom, shown in collaboration with Microsoft. The full launch follows the Italian launch in december, of an ‘immersive, simple and human-driven brand experience’. Customers in the Fiat Metaverse Store will be able to configure and even buy their electric 500, with the help of a Fiat product genius (a real person joining you in the store) in a digital environment very much resembling a futuristic showroom. Saves on floor space, we suppose…
Volkswagen ID.7
Not very techy but very much appealing to the techy crowd, so Volkswagen hopes, is the new ID.7, a Tesla Model 3-sized saloon with a 15-inch interior screen and a seriously impressive 400-mile+ driving range. There is a cool new augmented head-up display and a climate control system that can activate as the driver nears the car, readying it for when they get in. Not only is this an answer to Musk’s disruptor, it also seeks to fix all the issues – ergonomics, software and so on – we’ve seen on ID. models to date and set the tone going forward. We look forward to seeing it in full.
ZF Heat Belt
A big issue with the move from internal combustion to electric power in cars, is realising just how much energy is needed to run the things we don’t think about. The lights, the stereo, the climate control. The latter especially, can absolutely sap the life out of an EV if running at extremes. High heat through the blowers on a cold day, for instance, can take real figures out of your indicated range. Well ZF reckons its new heated seat belts, working in tandem with heated seats we know and love, can give 15 per cent back on cold days given how little energy it uses. Sounds slightly hokey, but it might just work. Every little helps!