CES 2016 has officially kicked off this week in Las Vegas. Every year the weeklong tradeshow hosts the latest gadgets and thinking from some of the world’s largest technology and electronics companies. However, this year, it seems that much of the hype and buzz is centered on a rather unsuspecting segment—the auto industry.
At this year’s event, almost 25% more floor space has been dedicated to the auto industry and two of the eight keynote speakers are from automakers.
Leading up to the tradeshow, there have been multiple reports and announcements of tech and auto partnerships, which have all of course fueled the anticipation around cars this week at CES. Reports of autonomous cars, car-sharing, shuttling services as well as partnerships with Lyft have all been announced, both before and during this year’s event.
Despite the fact that auto sales reached a record high in 2015, automakers aren’t holding on to that optimism for very long. Instead, it appears that automakers are preparing their companies for large anticipated social and economic changes in transportation.
We’ve already seen a few car companies, GM for example, talk about how their business philosophy is refocusing on personal mobility. Rather than only being in the business of producing and selling cars, automakers are shifting into the business of helping people get around—whether that’s in a Lyft rideshare provided by GM or even a self-driving car from Ford.
This merging of the auto industry and Silicon Valley suggests how automakers are anticipating the way people will not only be using cars, but shopping for transportation today and in the future.
Photo Source: BBC News
