Auto brands may flee the auto show, but they won't easily abandon CES Electronics Show.
CES 2022, a smoke is over.
Why do you feel this way? Due to the impact of the epidemic, the actual extension period was shortened to 3 days.
But why do you think that this CES has a lot of heavy news? Because car brands are really "hard", they have released many new technologies and new ideas.
Whether it's a venue release or an online release, auto brands are scrambling to get involved. There is a basic logic behind it, the car is no longer just a simple means of transportation, but a smart mobile terminal with great potential.
★ Luxury brand, quickly declaring war
On the road of electrification, luxury brands are really "anxious".
This time AT CES, Mercedes-Benz directly moved out of the Vision EQXX concept car. In this concept car, there are many "extreme" product points.
The wind resistance coefficient is as low as 0.17, the cruising range of a single full charge is more than 1000km, the average power consumption is only 10kWh/100km, the seamless ultra-thin integrated screen is 47.5 inches, and the lightweight technology and recyclable materials are greatly adopted, and the vehicle weight is 1.75 tons.
With many product points in one, this is the latest answer to Mercedes-Benz's thinking on electrification.
BMW brought the iX M60, the "Pure Electric + M Series". Dual motor drive, maximum power 619 hp, and don't forget, there is also a sound wave simulation of electric vehicles. There is still an "immersive experience" that the M series should have.
The most "showmanship", or rather, BMW's latest thinking, is the color-changing body and the suspension giant screen.
The color-changing body mainly uses "electronic ink" technology. On the surface of the body, millions of microcapsules are covered, and each microencapsule contains both charged white pigment and black pigment. By controlling the electrodes on both sides of the microcapsule, it is possible to affect the color of each capsule.
BMW iX Flow Concept, the first color-changing car
The suspended giant screen, integrated into the car's headliner system, can be slowly lowered from the canopy and extended to the back of the front seat to form a 31-inch movie display.
A huge suspension screen designed by BMW for use in the rear row
Have you ever wondered why cars are imagining big screens and in-car entertainment?
This is beyond the scope of aesthetic design, and the big screen brings an "immersive" experience, because people are willing to spend more and more time in the car, especially when autonomous driving gradually becomes a reality, this trend will be more obvious.
Cadillac formed a larger "innings".
At ces, Cadillac released the InnerSpace concept car, a self-driving bus, and a vertical take-off and landing vehicle.
The InnerSpace concept car has a very futuristic sci-fi feel, with the roof opening upwards, from which to enter and exit. The car uses a wrap-around screen, which also mentions renewable materials, and it seems that "environmental protection" is the biggest banner.
The vertical take-off and landing aircraft is even more "far away". It looks very cool, one-seater, vertical take-off and landing, and can even travel over the city at speeds of more than 80 km/ h.
Self-driving buses, which are very familiar, are obviously coming from L4 or above.
"Show muscle" is the consensus operation of several major luxury brands at key exhibitions. They are really a bit "anxious", because the development momentum of electric vehicles has clearly exceeded previous expectations.
All kinds of old fists, when it should be shot, compete to be the first, not the last.
★ Cross-border car building, sweeping the world
At this CES, there was a heavy car-making news. Who is it? Sony!
Regardless of whether the "Sony Law" is good or not, at present, Sony is determined to get involved in the automotive industry.
Remember at CES 2020, Sony released its first concept car, called vision-S 01, which was a sedan.
Fast forward to 2022, and Sony brought a second concept car, the name is good to guess, called VISION-S 02, which is an SUV.
What are the product highlights? The central control area is a large triple screen, and behind the front seats, there are two screens for the rear row. In addition, the whole vehicle is equipped with more than 40 sensor hardware, with the Internet of Vehicles function, and the latest achievements in autonomous driving technology.
However, from a very neutral point of view, sony's announced concept car is quite close to mass production, but the technology displayed does not bring a bright feeling, let alone a passing line.
Perhaps, the biggest expectation is that Sony, who is good at playing "black technology", has also built a car, do you not have confidence in cross-border car manufacturing?
★ Let's talk about autonomous driving
Since it is a consumer electronics show, cars must show the "electronics" side.
Imagine the future of the car, what is the most exciting thing? Autonomous driving!
In fact, at this CES, autonomous driving is still the hottest topic. Moreover, the outline of L4 automatic driving seems to be becoming clearer and clearer.
Volvo, in partnership with lidar company Luminar, plans to launch a pure electric flagship SUV in the second half of 2022, which will be equipped with lidar, millimeter-wave radar, and cameras to achieve high-end autonomous driving function Ride Pilot.
Krypton announced a deep cooperation with Mobileye and built a vehicle for Mobileye that can achieve L4 level autonomous driving capabilities based on the SEA Haohan architecture.
Jidu also announced at CES that the first mass-produced car will be equipped with NVIDIA Orin chip, which is expected to become an automotive robot with L4 level autonomous driving capabilities. The approximate timeline is that the concept car will be officially unveiled at the 2022 Beijing Auto Show, and the production car will be launched in 2023.
The impact of autonomous driving on the automotive industry lies in the profound changes in the supply chain system. More key suppliers, began to get more voice, and went to the front.
Among them, there are also a large number of Chinese suppliers.
At this CES, Hesai Technology, a lidar company from China, announced the automotive grade semi-solid-state lidar AT128 with a new generation of self-developed chips, and released a new close-range ultra-wide-angle lidar QT128.
The lidar AT128 is expected to be equipped with a number of car brands such as Ideal, Jidu, Gaohe, and Lotus, and is expected to be mass-produced and delivered in the second half of 2022.
The LiDAR QT128 is a step further afield, a blindfolded radar for L4 autonomous driving services scheduled for mass production in the first quarter of 2023.
Tuduitone, also a Chinese brand, exhibited the LiDAR Falcon at CES, mainly powered by nio ET7, and plans to mass-produce and deliver in the first quarter of 2022.
Desay SV and Qualcomm will work together to create The latest intelligent cockpit system based on the 4th generation Snapdragon cockpit platform, realizing a multi-dimensional integrated experience of visual perception, voice perception and interactive behavior.
★ Write at the end
The ups and downs of the automotive industry, the most profound, but also the most sensitive, is the automotive industry practitioners.
They may come from automakers or suppliers, and forward-looking insight is very important.
CES has become a new stage and a new trend in the automotive industry. When cars and electronic products are getting closer and closer, the active change under the anxiety of "auto people" will only become the new normal.
The author of this article is Kick Car Gang Cao An