The Finest Automotive Tech at CES 2026

We already dubbed the Sony-Honda EV collab’s huge entrance display screen the best dashboard on the present, but it surely bears repeating. Entrance dashboards are the way in which all of us work together with our automobiles, and the Afeela 1 understood the task. The large panoramic display screen that extends till the passenger door is made up of two shows, one 12.3 inches and the opposite 28.5 inches. With Sony behind the related automobile tech, it’s not shocking that the sweeping display screen is made for gaming (and wi-fi PlayStation Distant Play) and media viewing, full with themes based mostly on common Sony video games like em>Astro Bot. Honda will get its second when the Afeela 1 is definitely drivable. The EV is meant to reach in California by the tip of the yr for simply over $100,000 to begin.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Digital Chassis automobile gained’t ever be a manufacturing automobile, however that’s not the purpose. The showcase automobile was constructed for CES to deliver to life the infotainment, AI assistant, and automatic driving and security options that concurrently run behind the scenes of a automobile. The idea automobile, geared up with 13 cameras and 20 audio system, was capable of present driver help for a passed-out driver and name security operators when the driving force didn’t reply. It proactively took a photograph of the cabin to explain the scene to a human operator and checked the driving force’s smartwatch to watch for vitals. Whereas a formidable instance of what an AI agent might sooner or later do within the automobile, extra reasonable was the idea automobile’s capability to navigate to the primary assembly on the driving force’s calendar and choose a restaurant for dinner.

Waymo’s driverless robotaxi fleet has change into synonymous with the Jaguar I-Tempo EVs it makes use of in cities across the nation. However at CES 2026, the autonomous automobile firm confirmed its latest automobile: the Ojai. That’s the identify Waymo has given the Zeekr electrical minivans made by Chinese language firm Geely Auto that are actually decked out in a brand new Waymo hue. Most of the 13 cameras, six radar, and 4 LiDAR sensors will sit atop the brand new Waymo Ojai, just like the I-Tempo design, so there’s no mistaking this for something however an autonomous automobile. The brand new Waymos are anticipated to make it to San Francisco later this yr.

Talking of robotaxis, Uber is again within the recreation with a giant collab. The corporate is powering a fleet of Lucid Gravity EVs stuffed with Degree 4 self-driving functionality from Nuro and Nvidia compute energy. The driverless taxis have been unveiled at CES 2026 as prototypes that can be deployed within the San Francisco Bay Space later this yr, pending certification.

The taxis reap the benefits of the Lucid Gravity’s three-row SUV, giant cargo maintain, and built-in backseat screens that management issues like heated seats and air con—necessary for a driverless cab trip. With out destroying the smooth look of the electrical SUV, the repurposed model appears to be like like an autonomous automobile with high-res cameras, LiDAR sensors, and radar using on the roof and all through the automobile. Ultimately, Uber plans to function the robotaxis all over the place it has a presence across the globe.

Agentic AI is a giant deal for automobiles, the place voice management makes the driving expertise extra interactive than ever earlier than. Geely Auto, the Chinese language carmaker that owns Volvo, introduced at CES 2026 that it chosen Cerence AI’s agentic AI platform for automobiles, known as xUI. In a demo exhibiting the voice-controlled agent at work, it was instantly clear how easily (and naturally) the Cerence system related navigation, local weather, automobile controls, media, and even productiveness instruments by means of a Microsoft 365 integration. On the fly, drivers can arrange “voice shortcuts” to regulate a set of features, for instance, utilizing a phrase to open all of the home windows. Whereas solely a demo, the system didn’t falter when issues went off script, and the driving force might converse casually and colloquially with no hiccup. Cerence AI has lengthy proven use voice management within the automobile, so I wasn’t shocked that its newest model can impressively deal with advanced conditions like a number of duties from completely different seats within the automobile.

That is what CES is all about: proof of ideas which are completely pointless, however make you rethink the automobile passenger expertise. I couldn’t cease occupied with Garmin’s new use of Meta’s Neural Band within the automobile. Sporting the wrist band, you should use your thumb, and index and center fingers to regulate a touchscreen—with out touching the display screen. The band reads electrical alerts out of your wrist and converts the midair gestures into swipes and clicks onscreen. The Neural Band is certainly not a vital device, but it surely brings up a brand new means for passengers (and perhaps even drivers as soon as the automobile is parked, charging, or in a not-so-future totally autonomous mode) to work together with the automobile’s infotainment options.