To download this report, you need to log in as a DVN Lighting member.
Not a DVN member yet? Contact us now to join the DVN Community!
CES® 2025, the tech event of the world, welcomed over 141,000 attendees from around the globe. With more than 4500 exhibitors, including 1400 startups, and more than 6000 media attendees, CES highlights the innovation and technology trends, including automotive. This year was also very strong in consumer electronics (TV, Kitchen, and stronger than ever connected health)
“CES is where innovation comes to life,” said Gary Shapiro, CEO and Vice Chair, Consumer Technology Association (CTA), owner and producer of CES. “From the largest companies to trailblazing startups, the entire tech ecosystem is at the show. CES is the stage for groundbreaking product launches, transformative partnerships, and serendipitous business moments that define the future of technology.”
CES 2025 by the Numbers*
- 4500+ exhibitors, including 1400 startups
- 141,000+ attendees, of which 40% were international from over 150 countries, regions, and territories
- 6000+ global media, content creators, and industry analysts
- Over 60% of Fortune 500 companies
- 300+ conference sessions with 1200+ speakers
CES 2025 was a good vintage, even if OEM presence was not that that strong. However, Tier #1 and Electronic (that the E of CES, including digital & software) were very strong.
As any January, the world’s industries gather in Las Vegas for the biggest tech event on the planet, CES, to unveil their innovations that will shape our future.
For all industries, including automotive, software trends continue to dominate the industry’s collective brainpower, but as automakers and suppliers take a moment to breathe and rethink the value of self-driving technology, pure-touchscreen interfaces, and maybe even ‘AI’, much of the emerging focus is on what can be done inside the cabin to keep drivers and their passengers safe, healthy, and entertained.
These trends reveal a shift toward more personalized and seamless interactions between occupants and their vehicles, with features like real-time hazard alerts, adaptive comfort settings, getting back control buttons, ‘AI’-driven navigation systems, and more.
From an automaker perspective, supported by suppliers, high-interest topics include wider head- up displays, cooperation between Honda and Sony, Suzuki’s new platform, and more power to everything.
Years ago, car manufacturers discovered CES in Las Vegas and presented their latest achievements. Now that infotainment is becoming increasingly important and development cycles are getting shorter, CES is a well-matched stage for the auto industry. But participation is still fluctuating. Even though several major automakers aren’t present, including Hyundai and Mercedes who had previously planned to be there, there are still a great many exhibits to see. Magna, ZF, and Forvia are among the major tier-1s absent from CES this year.
Major themes of car interior CES 2025 were numerous, and sometimes contradictory; for instance, wider displays…and bringing back real buttons. Major takeaways include SDV Software-Defined Vehicles, improved driver experience, AI’, personalized and contextual interactions within the vehicle, DMS Driver Monitoring Systems going beyond attentional monitoring by constantly interpreting the driver’s emotions, voice recognition and other more intuitive direct interactions, and last, but not least, digital cockpit.
This is where major innovation is set to happen, encompassing most of the other topics. It comes from SDV, it. It includes AI to get personalization, and contextual interactions, voice systems, interior lighting, etc. We will see as many design ideas for digital cockpit as there are OEMs, and a significant method to create brand loyalty will come from the so-called “cockpit of the future.” Tier-1 suppliers are adding value to the digital cockpit by developing innovative technologies which meld augmented reality head-up displays ARHUD with pillar-to-pillar screens, which enable information (and alerts) to be projected directly into the driver’s eyeline without them having to take their eyes off the road. And from a safety standpoint, digital cockpit includes ADAS into integrated platforms