CES 2026 might be my 18th time heading to Las Vegas to cowl all the automobiles and automotive expertise on the world’s largest tech present. In spite of everything this time, entering into that conference middle nonetheless appears like entering into the longer term, and this 12 months needs to be no exception. Whereas the annual Shopper Electronics Present in January is bound to be stuffed with surprises, my years of expertise masking the techiest corners of the automotive trade have given me a great deal of perception into the massive present.
Learn extra: CNET Is Choosing the Best of CES 2026 Awards
At my first CES, automotive tech was largely aftermarket automotive audio tools and moveable GPS units. Then in 2011, Ford unveiled its all-electric Ford Focus, kicking off an explosive decade of automotive debuts at CES. Increasingly more automakers introduced their largest high-tech idea automobiles and new mannequin debuts to the present and dominating North Corridor on the Las Vegas Conference Middle.
Put up-pandemic, I’ve observed these conventional automakers largely shifting away from huge automobile debuts and refocusing their CES efforts on detailing the cutting-edge applied sciences inside and round their automobiles, like infotainment, autonomous driving and good infrastructure. This shift has opened up new area (figuratively and actually) on the present for automotive outsiders, startups and mobility newcomers to thrive, and I’ve seen CES trending over the past 5 years towards thrilling improvements in automotive synthetic intelligence, EV startups, new robotics and air mobility ideas.
Primarily based on the tendencies I’m seeing in mobility expertise this 12 months and practically twenty years of expertise masking the automotive trade, listed here are my greatest predictions for what mobility and automotive tech tendencies we’ll see this 12 months at CES 2026, from flying automobiles to considering automobiles to automobiles that transfer in methods we’ve by no means seen earlier than.
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My auto-tech predictions for CES 2026
- Extra flying automotive ideas than ever earlier than, with no less than one firm saying an precise roadmap to public air taxi flights.
- Improved conversational AI contained in the automotive that is in a position to deal with extra advanced and predictive duties.
- Modest enhancements in autonomous driving software program and the {hardware} that powers it.
- Extra insane robotic automotive ideas that discover shifting in new methods.
Rise of the ‘flying automobiles’
At this level, it is mainly a on condition that there might be no less than one “flying automotive” showcased at CES 2026. Over the past decade, I’ve seen all of it — from startups seeking to take ridesharing to the sky to established automakers experimenting with electrical plane ideas. In 2024, the massive information was Hyundai’s air mobility wing, Supernal, debuting its flight-ready electric air taxi. The spotlight of the 2025 present was Xpeng Land Service, a plug-in hybrid SUV from Chinese language automaker XPeng AeroHT that would deploy a small electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft from its trunk.
There is a motive I put these citation marks round “flying automobiles.” A lot of the ideas we have seen up to now aren’t, in my view, really automobiles. I’ve seen quite a lot of air taxis — eVTOL plane billed as quieter, reasonably priced and eco-friendly alternate options to helicopters — however these require a pilot’s license and air visitors management. Finally, builders anticipate these aerial shuttles to be autonomously piloted. The remainder of the ideas are ultralight electrical plane that do not require a pilot’s license, however (no less than, right here within the US) cannot be flown over populated areas. They’re basically massive drones you could sit in for brief leisure flights. Neither kind matches my Jetsons-style definition of a private flying automotive that I can fly or drive from my driveway to the workplace.
Semantics apart, eVTOL developments have been coming quick and livid this 12 months. Final March, Alef Aeronautics demonstrated a literal flying automotive. The Model Zero Ultralight was proven first driving on a highway after which lifting off to fly over one other stopped automobile. The prototype seems to make important roadworthiness (and maybe crash-worthiness) compromises to achieve the facility of flight, however Alef is accepting preorders on the $300,000 flying automotive. Only a few weeks in the past, the appropriately named Jetson air mobility firm launched a video racing its Jetson One eVTOL. That is simply the tip of the iceberg; these are thrilling instances for followers of electrical aviation.
Final 12 months, Xpeng AeroHT stole the present with a hybrid SUV that would deploy an ultralight eVTOL craft from its trunk.
Flying automotive ideas: What to anticipate at CES 2026
I anticipate there to be extra eVTOL ideas and prototypes at CES 2026 than ever earlier than. Essentially the most concrete information for city People will seemingly pertain to air taxis and electrical air shuttles, however I imagine we’ll see various ultralight private plane and extra true road-to-air ideas that stick nearer to the pure definition of a flying automotive you could drive on the highway (almost certainly from daring Chinese language automakers like XPeng AeroHT).
Along with the automobiles themselves, I anticipate there might be quite a lot of speak in regards to the infrastructure and help programs that can energy networks of city air taxis. Just lately, Archer Aviation introduced that it will purchase Hawthorne Airport in Los Angeles as a “strategic air taxi community hub and AI testbed.” CES could be an important alternative for Archer and different gamers within the city air mobility area to announce partnerships with airways, cities and airports, plans for air visitors management, or (hopefully) a roadmap heading towards public flights.
An AI good friend in your dashboard
About the one CES automotive prediction extra sure than automobiles that fly are automobiles that assume. Final 12 months, we noticed synthetic intelligence and huge language fashions working their approach into every little thing from telephones and PCs to refrigerators, robo-vacuums and automobiles.
Final 12 months, Volkswagen introduced a partnership with Cerence to bring ChatGPT to the dashboard of its automobiles and electrical SUVs, which I used to be in a position to try out at the show. In the meantime, Honda’s 0 concepts promised an AI future the place your automotive is your greatest good friend, studying your preferences and predicting your wants. (The place have I heard that before?)
Mercedes-Benz introduced a wild plan to deliver IMAX motion pictures to the dashboard of its automobiles, information that was overshadowed by new partnerships with Google and Microsoft to energy its MBUX AI voice assistant. Since CES, I’ve hung out on the highway with Benz’s AI assistant, and it was hands-down the perfect, most pure voice command expertise I’ve ever used, so I’ve excessive hopes for a way this expertise can develop, if achieved appropriately.
Volkswagen obtained an early begin including AI to its dashboards at CES 2025, however its rivals have since made main leaps as effectively.
Conversational AI in automobiles: What to anticipate at CES 2026
Automakers and software program firms present no signal of lifting the automotive AI accelerator, so I anticipate to see much more deeply built-in automotive AI coming at CES 2026. The most secure guess is on extra AI voice assistants; extra automakers will announce that they are bringing LLMs like ChatGPT or Google Gemini to automobiles within the very close to future. It is the best technique to be part of the AI occasion with essentially the most observable “what’s in it for me” for shoppers, enabling drivers to transcend easy hands-free calls and voice instructions to advanced voice-based duties with pure, conversational language.
Nevertheless, I am anticipating extra distinctive functions of AI tech as software program builders and automakers try to face out from the voice assistant crowd. Anticipate to see AI extra deeply built-in into the core software program stack of automobiles at CES, enabling drivers to work together with extra than simply their automotive’s infotainment show. How a couple of automotive that makes use of AI to self-diagnose and might advocate upkeep primarily based on precise situations fairly than simply prescribed mileage? That is not essentially the most thrilling instance, however the sky is the restrict (for higher or worse) as automobiles develop into extra software-defined.
Autonomous and robotic automobiles
Let’s additionally not overlook that AI software program powers extra superior security programs and autonomous driving. CES’ West Corridor might be chock-a-block with self-driving automobiles, driver help applied sciences, and the {hardware} and software program that energy them.
Final 12 months, we obtained a peek on the subsequent era of Waymo’s autonomous taxis primarily based on the Hyundai Ioniq 5 robotaxi and Zeekr RT, in addition to an up to date roadmap of cities the place the driverless ride-hailing service is rolling out. Along with passenger automobiles, John Deere confirmed off its second-generation self-driving tractor. The present ground additionally overflowed with demonstrations of lidar tech, next-generation machine imaginative and prescient {hardware}, ever more powerful automotive computing platforms with AI-crunching silicon, and rather more.
Maybe my favourite demonstration of what is doable when vehicle and robotics collide is the Hyundai-Mobis Mobion concept from CES 2024. This electrical hatchback took the idea of four-wheel steering to the subsequent degree with the flexibility to articulate every wheel as much as 90 levels to drag off wild spins and lateral motion for the best U-turns and parallel parking you have ever seen.
Autonomous driving: What to anticipate at CES 2026
The present state of self-driving automobiles is an fascinating one. The {hardware} required to make it occur is pretty mature, so anticipate to see modest enhancements in radar, digicam, sonar and lidar-sensing expertise that promise to be smaller, extra dependable and extra reasonably priced.
The most important leaps remaining are within the software program powering the tech and the infrastructure, laws and governance surrounding the automobile — all of that are tougher to showcase in a commerce present sales space. I anticipate which means my colleagues and I might be spending a little bit of time outdoors of the LVCC, hopefully taking rides within the subsequent era of autonomous automobiles and robotic taxis, in addition to trying out new driver assist options and automotive consumer interfaces.
I am most excited in regards to the potential for robotic mobility outdoors of the automotive. I am speaking about autonomous supply robots, electric go-karts, self-balancing motorcycles and crazy alternative mobility concepts. Not too way back, Hyundai Mobis showcased a wild walking vehicle that seemed like one thing straight out of Star Wars; it is a longshot, however I might like to see what insane modes of transportation firms give you subsequent at CES 2026.
