CES 2024 Live: News from Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Sony, Mullen, Vinfast and more in Las Vegas

Tesla home systems to be integrated with Samsung’s Smart Things

Coming soon: Tesla’s universal wall connector, Powerwall 3 and Solar Inverter can be integrated into Samsung’s Smart Things home ecosystem. The key thing here is the Powerwall. In the event of a power outage, Smart Things will now know how much power is available in the Powerwall, and therefore use its Smart Things AI to dictate how much power each of your Samsung appliances and other devices get/use. It also lets you monitor how much power your Tesla charger is using with the Smart Things app.

James Riswick

James Riswick

We try BMW's Remote Valet tech at CES 2024

Byron Hurd and James Riswick got to play 007 when they climbed behind the wheel, pedals and multiple displays of BMW's Remote Valet system and drove a BMW iX around a coned-off course. They take their martinis however you want to make them.

Verge Motorcycles shows off TS Ultra electric bike at CES 2024

Finland’s Verge Motorcycles rolls its high-tech TS Ultra into CES 2024. Come for the hubless electric rear motor, stay for the advanced sensor safety package.

Here's a full gallery of live images directly from the show floor in Las Vegas.

James Riswick

James Riswick

James Riswick

Bollinger's electric truck looks painful at CES 2024

Senior Editor James Riswick: "The Bollinger truck cabin has to be the most dangerous and painful interior I have ever seen, including old timey Model T era stuff. Hard metal edges everywhere, no padding anywhere. The armrests are wood for ouch sake."

James Riswick

We plow a field with John Deere tractor ... 1,300 miles away at CES 2024

Turning tilling duties over to an autonomously operated tractor could therefore be a big-time time and money saver for farmers. Time for Tractorblog!

Here at CES 2024, John Deere is showing that possibility is already reality. We got a chance to try out John Deere's autonomous tractor tech by tilling a field 1,300 miles away in Austin, Texas. The technology is currently in beta testing with actual owners/farmers throughout the country.

Mullen Five RS revealed at CES 2024, claims 1,000 horsepower

Mullen came to CES 2024 with some serious electrified firepower in the form of the Mullen Five RS.

The Mullen Five RS will feature dual motors with at least 1,000 horsepower and 850 pound-feet of torque and, surprisingly, a two-speed transmission. Those motors will apparently push the 5,070-pound to 50 in under 2 seconds and eventually up to a 200-mph top speed.

Recaro shows off sim racing seats at CES 2024

Recaro is showing off a range of advanced seating options for sim racing and endurance racing at CES 2024 in Las Vegas.

The Pro Supreme GT FPR seat, a product of a collaboration between Recaro Automotive and Ford Performance Racing, conceived specifically for the Ford Mustang GT3.

Moving down the technology spectrum is Recaro FeelTech+, a set of seat insert pads that work with several different Recaro seats. It leverages what Recaro calls Metahaptics, offering immersive haptic and touch experiences for sim racing, e-sports and upscale video games.

The seats that can work with FeelTech+ are the Recaro Pro Sim Star, Recaro Profi SPG/SPG XL, the Recaro Pole Position, and the Recaro Sport C with haptics.

Honda debuts new 'H mark' logo at CES 2024

It’s been about 43 years since we’ve seen a redesign of the familiar “H mark” that Honda so lovingly calls it. That changes today at the 2024 CES where Honda debuted a new H mark that is destined for future electric vehicles.

Mercury Marine electrifies boat motors at CES 2024

Yes, this is Autoblog. No, it's not Aquablog. No matter; these new electric boat motors, batteries and controllers from Mercury Marine are more than enough to float our boats (sorry).

James Riswick

Hyundai Mobion Concept does cool (orchestral) maneuvers (in the dark) at CES 2024

It also drives diagonally, projects crosswalks for pedestrians, warns others of obstacles.

The eVTOL Flying Car from XPeng Aeroht has spinning blades right at head level

This is the eVTOL Flying Car from XPeng Aeroht, which as the name and eight carbon fiber whiring blades would suggest, is a flying car concept (among others from this CES and past ones). 

All those blades fold into the body, allowing you to drive down the street without taking anybody’s head off. And to be clear, that would absolutely happen. They’re basically at neck level for almost every adult.

VinFast showed the VF Wild electric truck at CES 2024. Here's what we know so far

The VinFast VF Wild electric pickup truck is definitely in the midsize range, so similar to a Rivian R1T or possibly a Toyota Tacoma. The bed certainly appears to be longer than Rivian's as-is. But like a Chevy Silverado EV, it can be extended with a midgate.

The design is Italian, but unlike the Pininfarina-designed VinFast lineup on sale in America today, this concept was done by Torino Design.

The interior looks quite upmarket with lots of brown leather and charcoal gray accent cloth.

It's definitely a concept, and as noted on the display, features such as the power midgate are not guaranteed for any production model, and we imagine that the truck has not yet been greenlit.

This is a Togg. It is from a Turkish company that makes cars. I guess?

Senior Editor James Riswick: After examining the various displays and placards to no avail, I asked one of the many people working this stand the very pointed question of “what is Togg?” 

James Riswick

James Riswick

James Riswick

James Riswick

I received an answer of a three-pronged solution to eliminating carbon from your life through their Trumore app, energy storage facilities that let you shunt excess solar power from your power company to something you control for later use or donation (how, the presenter didn’t know), and electric cars. Sorry, “Smart mobility device.” They were very pointed about that. The sedan showed here was unveiled today, but apparently Togg’s SUV, the T10X, is for sale. Somewhere.

I tried, I promise. But for a gigantic stand with a sea of people working at it, that was the best I could come up with. Well, unless I wanted to devote more of my life to Togg. I do not.

The Mansory Empower isn't at CES, but it looks like it should be

Could it be that Mansory is looking to capitalize on flying car news that's sifting out of the Las Vegas hallways during CES 2024?

Mansory stresses that its Empower concept isn't an accurate preview of an upcoming production model. It acknowledges that "no one can say for sure" what the car of the future will look like, and that regardless of whether it flies, floats, or travels underground, buyers will always want customization options.

To repeat, the Mansory Empower is not at CES. But it sure looks like it should be, right?

The VinFast VF 3 is probably smaller than you think it is

VinFast brought its itty bitty electric SUV, the VF 3, to CES 2024, though it's not technically new.

A quick reintroduction of the VF 3: it's a little two-door SUV very much in the vein of the equally adorable Suzuki Jimny. In fact, it's actually smaller. At just 125.6 inches long, it's nearly 18 inches shorter than the Suzuki.

VinFast is aiming for 125 miles on a charge. It didn't say what test cycle that's on. If it's on the WLTP test, that could end up being less for the U.S.

Apparently VinFast talked with U.S. dealers about models, and it was suggested the VF 3 could be offered for less than $20,000.

We got the biggest scoop at CES 2024

James Riswick

James Riswick, ard at work, getting the scoop here at CES ...

Mercedes-AMG and musician will.i.am developed a technology called MBUX Sound Drive

MBUX Sound Drive that lets owners use their car as both a musical instrument and a recording studio. Although it sounds science fiction-esque, this system is headed to production later in 2024.

Onboard sensors feed data to a new software that interprets the car's basic movements as sounds. For example, there's a steering sound, a braking sound, and an acceleration sound. So, MBUX Sound Drive lets the driver compose a song by driving. Instead of playing, say, a progression of G, D, C, and G chords on a guitar, on paper your new song might look something like brake, steer, accelerate, and brake.

At least Mullen got the mirror reattached...

Associate Editor Byron Hurd: "They managed to replace the driver side door mirror mid-presentation."

Byron Hurd

Byron Hurd

The VinFast VF 3 sure is cool to look at

The Vinfast VF 3 has made a fan. Our own Joel Stocksdale: "Holy crap the VF 3 is so adorable."

He's not wrong...

Steering wheel from Magna detects blood-alcohol levels, other signs of driver impairment at CES 2024

Magna, the global automotive supplier and manufacturer, showed off a new steering wheel at CES that is designed to detect driver impairment, including fatigue and blood-alcohol level. Embedded cameras study eye movements and body language in order to detect drowsiness or impairment. 

James Riswick

This is not entirely different than existing systems used to determine driver inattention (see Subaru) or making sure drivers are paying attention to the road ahead (see Super Cruise). 

The big item here, however, is the integration of sensors by Senseair that passively detect alcohol from the ambient air. It can apparently differentiate between breath from the driver and passengers, as well as determine blood-alcohol levels. 

Various government entities have called for such technologies to prevent drunken driving. As long as the system really can differentiate between breath sources and levels, it certainly seems like a promising idea.

Mercedes-Benz shows off its new MB.OS at CES 2024

Today at CES 2024, Mercedes says that the first vehicles that will host MB.OS will be its family of MMA platform vehicles, which will include its entry-level models like the CLA, GLA and others.

One of the big elements with this new infotainment system will be the AI-driven MBUX Virtual Assistant that runs on MB.OS.

Mercedes says its assistant lives by the principles of “natural, predictive, personal and empathetic.” You can tailor it however you like via the settings, but it’s designed to learn your routines, offer proactive suggestions and speak to you in a more emotional voice than typical car assistants do. It uses 3D graphics run by the Unity game engine to present itself as a “living star avatar” to communicate with the driver or passengers in the vehicle.

Mercedes is apparently not a mammal, for it has laid an egg at CES

See visual proof here, courtesy of Autoblog's own James Riswick:

James Riswick

Want to see inside? Sadly there's no yolk, but there is the “MBUX Virtual Assistant” that Mercedes-Benz says is “running on MB.OS.”

James Riswick

James Riswick

James Riswick

Hyundai Supernal S-A2 VTOL shown off at CES 2024

At CES 2024, Hyundai's aircraft-specific subsidiary Supernal showed he latest development of its VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft called S-A2, along with some specifications. 

It's an electric aircraft, and it features eight full-tilt rotors. The passenger arrangement is set at four plus the pilot. It's designed to cruise at 120 mph at 1,500 feet and handle 25- to 40-mile trips.

This cute 'lil bugger is the VinFast VF 3. These pics are live from CES 2024

Now this thing looks adorable. It's small, which means for America it would probably be seen as an urban commuter. Which also means its estimated range of 125 miles might be sufficient. More to come.

James Riswick

James Riswick

James Riswick

James Riswick

This is the VinFast VF Wild electric truck at CES 2024

We don't know much about it yet — it's electric, of course, has a huge door opening and a power midgate — but as soon as we do, so will you. For now, here are some live pictures from the show floor.

James Riswick

James Riswick

James Riswick

James Riswick

James Riswick

James Riswick

James Riswick

James Riswick

And here's the Honda 0 Series Space-Hub at CES 2024

Honda's second concept, dubbed the Space-Hub, is described as a "flexible space that immediately accommodates a variety of passengers and becomes a “hub” that connects people to each other and the outside world," whatever that means. 

It looks a lot like a Starfleet shuttlecraft that got tossed back in time and landed at Honda R&D. We could once say the same thing about the Dodge Caravan, but we wont. Oh, oops.

Behold: The Honda 0 Series Saloon at CES 2024

This is the Honda 0 Series Saloon. It will be the first model in the 0 Series lineup, and Honda says it will be the flagship. It's built on a dedicated platform developed using Honda's M//M philosophy: man maximum/machine minimum. Translation: it's low, wide and spacious. And critically, it won't drive itself.

We have no idea how to describe what is happening at Mullen right now

Associate Editor Byron Hurd: "I have no idea how to describe what is happening at Mullen right now. Benjamin Franklin…. Tesla… Henry Ford and Ferry Porsche. And then the door mirror fell off."

No, we're not joking.

Byron Hurd

Get a load of these Honda machines at CES 2024!

Associate Editor Byron Hurd: "Honda is starting over “from zero” with a new series of lighter, smaller, more engaging EVs. Check out the doors on the Saloon!"

Google adds new features to Android Auto and cars with Google built-in

• Electric vehicles compatible with Android Auto can share real-time battery information with Google Maps – coming first to the Ford Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning

• Starting to roll out today, you can send the trip you’ve planned on Google Maps on your Android or iOS phone directly to your car with Google built-in

• Today, Chrome browser is starting to roll out to select Polestar and Volvo cars in beta, and will be available in more cars later this year

• Watch shows from PBS KIDS and Crunchyroll, which are both now available in select cars with Google built-in

• The Weather Channel app is now available for cars with Google built-in, giving you peace of mind on the road. Now you can stay up-to-date on changing weather conditions with hourly forecasts, follow-me, alerting and “Trip View” radar right from your dashboard

Goodyear and Gatik expand the use of smart tire technology at CES 2024

Goodyear and Gatik (a company in the in autonomous middle mile B2B logistics field) announced the expansion the use of Goodyear SightLine technology. It allows Gatik to record and interpret tire intelligence data regarding road conditions and tire health.

Smart tires. Who knew?

Awaiting the Honda unveiling. This is one to watch, folks.

Byron Hurd

Associate Editor Byron Hurd: "Waiting for the floor to open on day one of the CES 2024 public show. First stop: Honda."

Byron Hurd

Indy Autonomous Challenge reveals race car at CES 2024

A new race car meant for the Indy Autonomous Challenge that was just revealed at CES 2024. 

As you can see, there ... um, no driver's seat, steering wheel or anything else that would allow a human to race the machine around a course. Hence the "autonomous challenge" bit.

It's a competition for colleges and universities around the world to develop and race each other in autonomous cars on real racetracks. This next generation of autonomous open-wheel cars will be taken to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Monza and the Goodwood Festival of Speed to compete for big cash prizes.

Lamborghini may not sound like the type of carmaker you associate with CES, but maybe you should.

One of the exciting announcements Lambo made at CES 2024 is a new experimental track connectivity system called Telemetry X that leverages three technologies to help the driver set faster lap times: the Real-Time Remote Garage, the Biometric Data System, and the Digital Co-Pilot.

Lamborghini

Sony drove the Afeela onstage with a PlayStation 5 controller

We already featured the Sony Afeela Concept on this live blog, but what we didn't show you is how the Japanese giant drove the electric car onto the stage at CES 2024. A yoke? Nope. A PlayStation controller!

Sony Honda Mobility says the Afeela is still on track to be released later this decade, and it's making progress on both hardware and software. 

Goodyear makes tires greener, longer lasting at CES 2024

Goodyear used CES 2024 to show off its new ElectricDrive 2 tires. Since EVs tend to weigh a lot, they can go through tires faster than owners expect. These new ElectricDrive 2 tires are designed to last a lot longer.

Goodyear expects the tires to be commercially available in North America starting in May. 

The Afeela is back! And it's... the same?

James Riswick

SHM says it's been upgraded with better AI tech, but there's not much new to see here. 

Kia's new PBV family is cute and weird

Kia's forthcoming lineup of PBVs is quite fascinating. I'm skeptical that the "Human Centipede" tricks will be valuable in the real world, but the emphasis on both loading and boarding from the tailgate makes me wonder why we haven't seen more rear ingress/egress tricks with electric vans and SUVs. You could probably fit four PV1s in a pull-through Texan parking space (imagine them side-by-side and nose-to-nose. Wild, right? 

Byron Hurd

Byron Hurd

Byron Hurd

The best part about the Kia PBV vans? They're real, and they're coming soon.

Reviews Editor Zac Palmer: "I would totally ride around in one of these Kia PBV vans if they sold it here. The modular body swapping sounds a bit aspirational on paper, but the idea is neat. 

"The best part of the PBV reveal is that Kia actually plans on making these cute and useful vans. There’s a whole lot of hot air typically associated with CES, so concrete production plans for as soon as 2025 sure are nice to see."

Kia shows off five versions of its Platform Beyond Vehicle, or PBV for short

Kia's Platform Beyond Vehicle isn’t just one vehicle. In fact, there are five PBVs that were just revealed at CES – three versions of the Concept PV5, the Concept PV7 and the Concept PV1. All of them are electric.

All of the PV vehicles share a similar design language that can most succinctly be described as practical. They’re van-like but without much of a front end to maximize the utility behind the driver and maintain a smaller overall footprint.

Read the full story here.

CES 2024 floor highlight: Volkswagen

Between other events, I cruised the Volkswagen display, which still had the ID.7 and updated GTI on the stand. Very much looking forward to trying out the GTI's updated tech when it arrives; it's so good to drive but so frustrating to live with. 

Byron Hurd

Byron Hurd

It's a busy day at the Las Vegas Convention Center for CES 2024

Autoblog Associate Editor Byron Hurd: "Watching the Hyundai conference from the overflow room due to overcapacity on the main CES show floor."

It's a busy day at the Las Vegas Convention Center, folks.

Hyundai talks hydrogen and vehicle software at CES 2024

Hyundai let loose on some major plans for the future at CES 2024, mostly surrounding hydrogen and software. 

1. Hyundai will be lumping basically every aspect of its hydrogen work including "production, storage, transportation, and utilization" under its HTWO brand (get it?). 

   1. <News Editor Joel Stocksdale, who covered the news for Autoblog, is intrigued by all this cool-sounding hydrogen stuff>

2. Hyundai referred to its desire to have software-defined everything, or "SDx." What this means is Hyundai will be working on creating its own app market, making development kits available for people and companies to develop apps for Hyundai vehicles. Why should Apple and Google have all the app (and data and monetization) fun to themselves?

   1. <News Editor Joel Stocksdale, who covered the news for Autoblog, reported that his eyes glazed over at the software stuff>

Click here for all the details. Sorry in advance if your eyes are like Joel's when you're done reading through it.

Mullen shows of an electric truck and will later debut the Mullen FIVE RS, a "high-performance EV crossover"

We don't hear much from Mullen Automotive, but the company is on the scene at CES 2024 with several machines to show off. One worth mentioning is the Mullen Three, an electric Class 3 truck that's being shown in two forms.

The Bollinger B1 and B2 will also be there, and that reminds us how cool those super boxy off-roaders would have been to see out in the wild. Ah well, at least CES showgoers will get another look at 'em.

NVIDIA has its hardware and software all over the place at CES 2024

You might know NVIDIA mostly for its high-end computer technology, but the chipmaker is deeply involved in the automotive manufacturing world, too. Says the company's latest news release:

"Amid explosive interest in generative AI, the auto industry is racing to embrace the power of AI across a range of critical activities, from vehicle design, engineering and manufacturing, to marketing and sales."

With highlights from Mercedes-Benz, Polestar, Pebble (the high-tech trailer company), robotaxi company Zoox and more, NVIDIA clearly has its hands and silicon all over the CES 2024 show floor.

Panasonic introduces Neuron. Don't worry, it's super easy to understand. Right?

Panasonic hit the stage at CES 2024 to announce its High-Performance Compute (HPC) system. It's named Neuron (clever, right?), and from what we can decipher, it's a computing platform that includes both hardware and software aimed at extending a vehicle's potential lifecycle by reducing the number of traditional high-cost components and replacing them with new versions that can be upgraded over the life of the vehicle.

For the truly techy car enthusiasts out there, here's Panasonic's overview:

"With a streamlined design, the Neuron HPC incorporates up-integration capability by consolidating multiple ECUs into one centralized nucleus to handle all levels of ADAS, chassis, body, and in-cabin infotainment features."

There's more at Panasonic's news site, but for the rest of us, maybe a video would make things easier to understand. So here's that.

2025 Infiniti QX80's Klipsch audio system previewed at CES 2024

We haven't yet seen the actual redesigned 2025 Infiniti QX80 full-size, three-row SUV. No matter. The luxury automaker is offering a preview of the big SUV's high-end audio at CES 2024 all the same.

Klipsch, well-known as a high-end speaker and audio company, will be supplying the QX80 with a total of 24 speakers and a 24-channel amplifier.

The audio system is being showcased in the Infiniti QX Monograph concept, pictured above, which we first saw at Pebble Beach last year.

Bosch shows off Automated Valet Charging and focuses on hydrogen

Bosch, the huge German engineering and technology company, made some interesting announcements at CES 2024 today. The company says,"Global energy consumption has doubled in the past 50 years – and continues to grow by around 2 percent each year. Fossil fuels currently account for some 80 percent of global energy consumption."

A couple highlights:

• Automated valet charging (a CES® 2024 Innovation Award honoree)

  • Electric cars featuring this new technology can drive themselves to an available parking space furnished with a charging spot. At the touch of a button on a smartphone, a robot charges the battery without any further human intervention. Once charging is complete, the vehicle maneuvers driverlessly to another parking space, leaving the spot free for the next car.

• Bosch "sees hydrogen as a key to meeting the world’s energy needs in a climate-neutral way"

  • The focus is currently on the mobile fuel cell, which recently went into volume production in Stuttgart. This lies at the heart of the powertrain system for heavy vehicles. Bosch has already received its first orders from truck manufacturers in Europe, the U.S., and China. The company is also working on components for a hydrogen engine, which converts fuel directly into energy without first converting it into electricity. When powered by green hydrogen, this engine is practically carbon neutral. The H2 engine is due to debut this year.

• Usage Certificate To Go and Vehicle Health Service

  • The feature analyzes battery data, determines the battery’s condition, and helps extend its service life by up to 20 percent through optimization. The second service, aimed at fleet operators, offers features designed above all to prevent vehicle breakdowns.

LG announces production of EV chargers in the United States

More EV chargers in the United States is definitely a welcome development. Here's the latest from LG Electronics at CES 2024: