Electric vehicles are taking a back seat at CES, and robotaxis, robots, and automotive artificial intelligence are shaping future trends.
CES 2026 (the largest technology exhibition taking place in Las Vegas)It marked a decisive shift away from electric vehicles as a core interest in favor of robotaxis, artificial intelligence, software-defined cars, and robotics, reflecting both cooling demand for electric vehicles in the United States and the industry's growing focus on what cars do rather than how they power themselves, according to Automotive News.
Although electric vehicles remained the standard platform for cutting-edge technology, they were increasingly perceived as the "minimum bet" as attention shifted to autonomous driving, artificial intelligence in cars, and digital dashboards. Lucid, Nuro and Uber demonstrated a production version of the Gravity crossover robot taxi, while Ford announced a distraction-free driver assistance system for its upcoming electric vehicle platform and a new artificial intelligence that will be implemented in applications and cars. Hyundai unveiled an ambitious plan to introduce Boston Dynamics humanoid robots in factories from 2028, and Mobileye highlighted the relationship between autonomy and robotics by buying Mentee Robotics for $900 million.
Another major topic was software-defined cars, and alliances such as Google—Qualcomm, AWS — Here, and QNX—Vector are seeking to accelerate the development of digital cars. Chinese brands such as Zeekr and Great Wall have attracted the attention of visitors with their technological models, despite the fact that US duties block their entry into the market. Overall, CES has confirmed its reputation as an exhibition of mobility technologies, where artificial intelligence, autonomy and robotics are currently determining the development of the industry more than just electrification.