At CES, EVs take a backseat to robotaxis and AI

It says a lot about the current moment when one of the world’s largest EV sellers shows up at the world’s biggest electronics show to announce not a new, more affordable model or a cool futuristic concept car, but a humanoid robot. And one we’ve seen already.

Hyundai’s decision to use its CES keynote to tout Boston Dynamics’ Atlas robot sends a pretty clear message about how the auto industry is absorbing the bad news about EVs in the United States in 2025, and where it thinks things are heading in the new year. EVs are out, and AI and robotaxis are in.

CES has always been a hotbed for robots and other assorted AI ephemera, but it also used to be the hottest car show around. It’s where Chevy announced its first mass-market EV, the Bolt, and where everyone from Honda to BMW to Ram would gather to show off future battery-powered concepts. You could see color-changing cars, shape-shifting vans, and even a few flying cars if you were lucky.

This year, the only thing with four-wheels to make its debut was Sony and Honda’s new Afeela SUV prototype. The regular Afeela was there too, five years after its initial debut and still just short of production.

Meanwhile, AI continues to suck all the air out of the room. Car companies seem to think that in order to be taken seriously by Wall Streets’ overly exuberant investors they need to have an AI strategy, or a chatbot, or even a humanoid robot. It’s not enough to just sell cars anymore.

Maybe someday CES will reemerge as a car show. Maybe when the auto industry is feeling less anxious about global trade and rising manufacturing costs, it’ll be ready to give us a glimpse of the future again.

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