CES 2025: Where have all the US automakers gone?

Such was the old chestnut passed down by industry watchers over the past decade CES – one of the world’s largest consumer technology trade events – has become an auto show. Perhaps the most important auto show of the year.

And there was ample evidence of that. GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra used CES stage in 2016 introducing the world to the all-electric Chevrolet Bolt. In 2022, Barra made another big splash at General Motors’ CES. sales of personal autonomous vehicles “mid-decade”.

Meanwhile, Ram and Chrysler, the two American brands owned by Stellantis, used CES to show off future EVs, including cars. RAM 1500 BEV In 2023.

Ford has been perhaps the most visible CES exhibit — at least in the automotive realm. The U.S. automaker made big use of CES technology announcements since at least 2011, including the 2015 Smart Mobility Plan, self-driving car ambitions in 2016, future EV lineup in 2017 and its vision for the City of Tomorrow in 2018, including a Cloud platform with Autonomic for smart cities.

This year, unless you count Scout Motors, the VW Group’s US spin-off, there’s not a single American automaker to be found. Several Chinese automakers have filled the gap, notably Zeekr, an EV brand owned by China’s Geely Holdings. Wey and Xpeng, a premium brand under Great Wall Motor, also had booths.

Brian Moody, editor-in-chief of Kelley Blue Book, told TechCrunch that their absence could be attributed to the normal product cycle in the car, which is longer than that of other consumer electronics. “It’s cyclical, it’s a boring answer,” he said in a recent interview. “Car manufacturer product cycles are longer than consumer product cycles. It takes longer to build a car in the real world.”

He also said automakers are beginning to rethink their presence at trade shows like CES. “If you’re not making tens of millions of impressions to consumers, what’s the ROI?” he reflected, adding that the fragmentation of the media has contributed to this concern.

Ford spokesman Alan Hall told TechCrunch that while the company has no activations (displays or news announcements) this year, “CES remains an important show for exploring new technologies and trends in consumer electronics, so we’ll be attending with a number of companies. members of our engineering, design, supply chain and product planning teams are there.

Some Ford employees participated in panel discussions, such as the Connect2Car conference.

GM had a small presence through several partners, but no speaking engagements or booths, a spokeswoman confirmed, noting that with all trade shows, the company evaluates from year to year and makes adjustments based on various business factors and priorities.

Regardless, walking around the West Hall floor of the Las Vegas Convention Center – where almost all automotive technology can be found – the lack of US automakers was notable. Nowhere were the elaborate booths showcasing US companies’ EVs or in-car software.

Several Chinese automakers have filled the gap, notably Zeekr, an EV brand owned by China’s Geely Holdings.

This also applied to other car manufacturers, such as Mercedes-Benz, which traditionally have large exhibits at CES.

Spokesman Patrick Kuom told TechCrunch that Mercedes decided to skip CES after “carefully reviewing and evaluating our strategic direction for the coming year,” adding that the company has partner Xperi at the booth.

There were several automakers there, such as Honda, which showcased two of its cars at the upcoming 0 series, and BMW, which revealed more about the basic Asimo operating system and its. new user interface in the car. Toyota also created noise with its press conference completed the first stage He said he invested in and discovered a living laboratory called Woven City and orbital rockets.

But the main theme was automated driving and software – and the older automakers didn’t have much to show on that front. Instead, companies working on automated driving — or the sensors that support it — and software took up most of the floor. AV giants Zoox and Waymo had exhibits (along with Zoox robotaxis rides for media), along with others such as May Mobility and Japanese company Tier IV.

There were also many software and sensor companies, including Aeva, Applied Intuition and Sonatus – to name a few.