• BMW drives into the next generation of vehicle platforms, highlighting intelligent personal assistant and upgraded sixth-generation eDrive technology

• LG showcases AI-defined vehicles with advanced AI model integration on Snapdragon Cockpit Elite HPC platform with aiMotive

• HERE showcases AI-powered maps with Snapdragon Ride and expands Hyundai partnership for intelligent, connected cockpit experiences

• Donut Lab debuts world’s first all-solid-state battery ready for production vehicles

• Afeela 1 highlights Sony Honda Mobility’s bet on software, sensors and premium EV experience

• Uber, Lucid Motors and Nuro reveal production-intent version of their robotaxi

• Aptiv drives intelligent edge from automotive to robotics

• Bosch aims to shape the future of mobility, manufacturing and technology in everyday life

• Smart Eye and Alps Alpine bring invisible driver monitoring behind the display

• Quectel’s 5G-Advanced AR588MA strengthens vehicle safety and always-on connectivity

This year’s CES is taking place in Las Vegas from January 6 to 9, with January 4 and 5 designated as Media Days. While Media Days helps set the narrative, the main show floor opens on January 6, when supplier booths, technical demonstrations and closed-door meetings are expected to reveal more concrete details around production readiness, OEM programs, and timelines. As the event unfolds, Counterpoint Research’s analysts are on the ground, tracking key announcements and what they mean for the broader tech industry.

Automotive updates during the CES 2026 Media Days have already set the tone for the week. Across both OEMs and suppliers, one message stood out clearly – vehicle platforms are being fundamentally redesigned around software scalability, centralized computing and long-term upgradability. Most announcements highlighted how AI, connectivity, sensing and compute are coming together in unified vehicle architectures designed to scale across models and global markets. Below is our analysis of the key automotive announcements from Media Days:

• NVIDIA announces Alpamayo family of open-source AI models and tools to accelerate safe, reasoning-based autonomous vehicle development

NVIDIA has introduced Alpamayo, a suite of open-source AI models, simulation tools and datasets, to accelerate the development of safe, reliable autonomous vehicles. Alpamayo is a Vision-Language-Action (VLA) model with a 10-billion-parameter architecture that enables human-like thinking for AV decision-making. In addition, the company has introduced AlphaSim, an open-source, end-to-end framework for validating autonomous driving systems. NVIDIA has also released over 1,700 hours of driving data collected across geographies. Several automakers and AV companies, including Lucid Motors, JLR, Uber and Berkeley DeepDrive, are expressing interest in the newly-launched Alpamayo to develop Level 4 autonomous driving technology.

• ZF and Qualcomm collaborate to deliver scalable ADAS solution powered by new ZF ProAI supercomputer and Snapdragon Ride platform

At CES 2026, ZF and Qualcomm Technologies announced the expansion of their partnership to deliver a scalable and open ADAS compute platform that combines Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Ride platform with ZF’s ProAI supercomputer. The solution aims to accelerate software-defined and automated vehicle adoption, enabling automation up to Level 3. Leveraging Snapdragon Ride SoCs and ZF’s ProAI, the platform supports diverse AI and perception workloads through an open, flexible architecture. ZF’s ProAI delivers up to 1,500 TOPS of compute power and supports modular, multi-domain configurations, allowing automakers to integrate more than 25 ADAS functions, including hands-off Navigate on Autopilot (NOA), as modular or standalone software offerings.

• Aptiv drives intelligent edge from automotive to robotics

Aptiv showcased its next-generation edge-to-edge and AI-powered ADAS with Gen 8 radars and PULSE sensors for L2++ autonomy across highway and urban areas. Digital cockpit advancements include driver monitoring system (DMS), cabin monitoring system (CMS), cockpit sound suite, face ID and other modular software on Android Automotive for enhancing safety and other personalization. Aptiv’s LINC platform partners with Verizon to explore the potential of C-V2X technology with 5G connectivity and edge computing for low latency and road safety. Aptiv will also feature software and hardware solutions for multiple robotics and aerospace applications. Multi-industry expansion diversifies Aptiv beyond automotive and positions it in the HPC and SDV ecosystem.

• BMW drives into next generation of vehicle platforms, highlighting intelligent personal assistant and upgraded sixth-generation eDrive technology

At CES 2026, BMW unveiled the BMW iX3 as the first production model of the BMW Neue Klasse, showcasing technologies that will scale across 40 BMW models by 2027. The main highlight of the debut is the next-generation AI-powered BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant, now expanded with Amazon Alexa+, enabling natural, multi-intent voice interactions for vehicle functions and general knowledge. The iX3 also highlights BMW’s operating system X with rich in-car entertainment, including streaming, video calls and gaming. The new sixth-generation BMW eDrive technology also introduces an 800V architecture, new cylindrical-cell batteries with higher energy density, faster charging and bidirectional charging (V2L, V2H, V2G), delivering up to 805 km of WLTP range along with ultra-fast DC charging. New high-performance “Heart of Joy” control units and a dedicated automated driving super brain will also enhance efficiency, handling, recuperation and hands-free Level 2 driver assistance on highways and in cities.

• Afeela 1 highlights Sony Honda Mobility’s bet on software, sensors and premium EV experience

Sony Honda Mobility (SHM) unveiled its Afeela 1 pre-production electric car at CES 2026, reflecting years of development since the partnership started in 2022. The mid-size EV offers a range of around 480 km, dual motors with AWD, and a 91-kWh Lithium-Ion battery. Afeela 1 features a full-width panoramic dashboard display, advanced AI-driven voice and infotainment functions, 40+ sensors for ADAS, and a native PlayStation Remote Play. At its core is the Afeela Personal Agent powered by Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, while Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Digital Chassis underpins AI-centric computing. SHM is also enabling cloud APIs and an Android-based IVI platform to support third-party apps and ongoing software upgrades. In one higher trim, Afeela also offers two 12.9-inch rear-seat displays with high brightness, wide color gamut and local-dimming LED technology to enhance the rear-passenger experience. The Afeela 1, priced between approximately $89,900 and $102,900, is scheduled for customer deliveries in late 2026 (starting in California), with broader US and international rollouts thereafter.

• Bosch aims to shape the future of mobility, manufacturing and technology in everyday life

Bosch, emphasizing its longstanding expertise in software and hardware, aims to bridge the software-hardware gap as vehicles transition toward software-defined architectures by enabling next-generation vehicle functionalities through tight integration. The company expects its automotive software solutions alone to generate around €6 billion in revenue, accounting for nearly two-thirds of its total mobility solutions business.

Bosch also showcased its AI-enabled vehicle cockpit, designed to deliver highly personalized user experiences. Powered by an advanced LLM and Vision AI, the system enables more natural interaction, including assistance with tasks such as finding parking spaces or creating minutes of an online meeting. Bosch highlighted strong growth prospects for its by-wire technologies (ride by wire, steer by wire), projecting sales of about €7 billion in the next six years.

Bosch also presented a vehicle motion management solution, which enhances ride comfort and reduces motion sickness by centrally coordinating brakes, steering, powertrain and chassis systems. The company also showcased its seventh-generation radar, offering higher precision along with long-range detection capable of identifying small objects to improve safety and autonomous driving performance. Lastly, Bosch announced a strategic partnership with Kodiak AI to develop autonomous platforms for commercial vehicles.

• LG showcases AI-defined vehicles with advanced AI model integration on Snapdragon Cockpit Elite HPC platform with aiMotive

LG and aiMotive have unveiled a next-generation HPC platform that unifies in-vehicle infotainment with ADAS Level 2+ autonomous driving into a single cohesive architecture. LG’s AI Cabin Platform integrates image generation models, vision language models (VLMs) and large language models (LLMs) with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Cockpit Elite platform. Complementing this, LG showcases three AI-defined vehicle solutions – Mobility Display, Automotive Vision and In-vehicle entertainment, leveraging a transparent OLED windshield to enhance the safety and user experience. LG's partnership with Qualcomm and aiMotive to integrate AI models into vehicle platforms marks a strategic shift toward software-defined vehicles.

• Uber, Lucid Motors and Nuro reveal production-intent version of their robotaxi

Uber, Lucid Motors and Nuro unveiled their production-ready robotaxi based on the Lucid Gravity SUV. The vehicle is equipped with Lidar, radar and cameras powered by NVIDIA’s Drive Thor platform. The vehicle is already being tested on public roads and is targeting a launch in the San Francisco Bay Area later in 2026. The SUV is built at Lucid’s Arizona factory and offers a premium interior and an Uber-designed interface with ride and comfort controls. Lucid has recovered from earlier production issues and doubled its output in 2025. It plans to begin full-scale robotaxi production after final validation later this year.

• Smart Eye and Alps Alpine bring invisible driver monitoring behind the display

Smart Eye and Alps Alpine have announced a breakthrough under-display driver monitoring solution that embeds the DMS camera directly behind the instrument cluster display, making all hardware completely invisible to the driver. Powered by AUO Mobility Solutions’ advanced under-display camera (UDC) LCD technology, the solution achieves the optimal camera position and field of view for robust distraction and drowsiness detection without compromising display uniformity or cockpit design. By combining Smart Eye’s production-proven DMS software, Alps Alpine’s display integration expertise and AUO’s next-generation display technology, the system delivers high near-infrared performance while simplifying OEM integration, reducing sensor complexity and supporting emerging global driver attention safety regulations.

• HERE showcases AI-powered maps with Snapdragon Ride and expands Hyundai partnership for intelligent, connected cockpit experiences

At CES 2026, HERE Technologies has made a series of announcements, including an AI-powered map to support the Snapdragon Ride platform for L2 and L2+ ADAS and a new partnership for navigation with Hyundai AutoEver. HERE’s AI-powered map intelligence integrated with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Ride/Ride Pilot platform will enhance L2+ ADAS and automated driving, using an “e-horizon” map that extends vehicle awareness beyond sensors with lane-level accuracy and OTA-updated coverage growing from around 60 to over 100 countries by 2026.

HERE also expanded its online navigation partnership with Hyundai AutoEver to deliver intelligent, digital cockpit and connected navigation experiences for Hyundai, Kia and Genesis vehicles, enabling more frequent cloud-based map updates, streaming-style navigation, lane-level guidance, ADAS-aware routing, and personalized in-car UX on ccNC/ccIC (Connected Car Navigation Cockpit/Connected Car Integrated Cockpit) platforms in markets such as North America and Australia.

• Donut Lab debuts world’s first all-solid-state battery ready for production vehicles

Finnish tech pioneer Donut Lab has disrupted the EV industry by launching the world’s first production-ready all-solid-state battery. Unlike competitors’ prototypes slated for 2027-2030, this "Donut Battery" is available now, powering the 2026 Verge Motorcycles lineup with deliveries starting in Q1 2026.

The battery delivers a massive 400 Wh/kg energy density and enables a full 0%-100% charge in just five minutes, bypassing the usual “80% taper”. Engineered for longevity, it supports 100,000 cycles and maintains 99% capacity in extreme temperatures (-30°C to 100°C). By using abundant materials and a cobalt-free design, Donut Lab offers a safer, cheaper and more sustainable alternative to lithium-ion.

• Quectel’s 5G-Advanced AR588MA strengthens vehicle safety and always-on connectivity

Quectel has launched the AR588MA as a 5G-Advanced (3GPP Release 18) automotive-grade module built on MediaTek’s MT2739 platform. Compared with many existing 5G automotive modules, it stands out with dual-SIM, dual-active support for more stable connections, built-in NB-NTN and NR-NTN satellite connectivity, and GNSS L1+L5 positioning support. The module also supports European eCall, NG eCall and China’s AECS, making it suitable for both current and upcoming emergency call needs across key markets. Drop-in compatibility can reduce redesign and validation work, helping OEMs upgrade faster and bring 5G-Advanced and satellite-ready TCUs to market more quickly.