The Minister added that Chinese OEMs, who are ahead of the curve with software compared to Western manufacturers in terms of autonomous driving technology, believed they were not at the show because they currently cannot introduce any cars to the US. Therefore, CES is no longer a “stage right for them.”
Andy Palmer, former COO of Nissan and former CEO of Aston Martin Lagonda, is stepping forward. “CES used to be important to automakers because the industry was lending technology trust to Silicon Valley. Today that relationship has broken down. Automotive tech is no longer the exciting new thing, it’s expected,” he said. “Electronics, software, and ADAS are now advanced technologies. They are no longer pieces of theater that need a Las Vegas stage.”
More importantly, Palmer, Nohardi, and Ministeri all say that the center of gravity in the automotive world has shifted—both technologically and geographically—to China. This makes China’s biggest auto show, which alternates each year between Shanghai and Beijing, now i a place where car manufacturers should stop and clean up.
Indeed, as WIRED pointed out in May of last year, Shanghai 2025 wasn’t just an auto show—it was a warning to the West. After importing some of the best automotive talent from the West, China’s auto industry began to show how it would dominate the world in terms of charging prices, range, design, technology, and sheer volumes. Detroit and Munich were notified. It was blindingly obvious to everyone in the industry where the new power lay.
“Shanghai has become more important than CES for many manufacturers,” Palmer said, “because that’s where the fastest innovation cycles, supply chains, and consumer demand are now.
Chinese automakers aren’t content to just show off on home soil, however. So with CES out of the question, they’ve been looking for a replacement. Step forward to Munich’s IAA Mobility, now Europe’s largest automotive conference following the demise of the Geneva Motor Show. “The Chinese want a platform to showcase their products outside of China,” said the Minister. “If you’re at Mercedes or BMW, and you see China investing at the IAA, you have to be there. So they’re investing a lot. This year, at the IAA, it was the best Mercedes stand I’ve seen in 10 years of touring auto shows.”
In order for CES, and perhaps by extension the US auto industry, to return to a dominant position in the global automotive business, another major shift in the automotive evolution will have to occur. And, moreover, at the rate things are going, an annual event like the auto show will come too late to keep pace with progress in China.
“Look at the lead time of Chinese manufacturers: from R&D to delivery in two years on average,” Nohard said. “They bring cars to the market a lot immediately. The traditional manufacturer’s average is seven years. So now you can’t have enough shows to bring your new product. BYD, they have a complete line of products on the horizon. A lot of new BYD products will be on the market before the next shows start.”
“CES was at the pinnacle of software and interface, and software-defined vehicles became the pinnacle of everything that was happening in the automotive industry, and EV technology. Now we’re past that,” Nohard said. “It’s going to take another big shift in car development to put CES back on the radar.”
