As the transformation of the auto industry comes into sharper focus, CES in Las Vegas has quietly evolved from a technology showcase into a bellwether for the global car business. In recent years, CES was often jokingly described as a "world-class auto show," dominated by demonstrations of the industry's shift from internal combustion engines to electric drivetrains. However, starting in 2025, the frenzy of brand and component competition began to cool. By CES 2026, the center of gravity had unmistakably shifted.
As 2026 begins, competition within China's auto market is heating up rapidly, propelled by a convergence of government policy shifts and intensifying competitive pressure. Leading the opening salvo of the new year's price war was BMW, which announced price cuts across much of its China lineup, with discounts in some cases exceeding 20%.
At CES 2026, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivered a keynote that many in the industry described as setting the direction for the next decade. It was not merely another unveiling of chips and platforms. Instead, it marked what Nvidia cast as a turning point for autonomous driving: a shift away from rule-based engineering toward systems centered on intelligence, reasoning, and judgment.
The lights at the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2026) still blaze as brightly as ever. However, for the global auto industry, CES has long ceased to be a mere technology spectacle. It has become a proving ground for something far more consequential: a reassembly of the industry's "soul and body," where control of the future—and the reshaping of business models—is very much at stake.
Honda Motor said on January 5 that it would delay the reopening of three factories operated by its Chinese joint venture, GAC Honda, after a key automotive chip supplier, Nexperia, halted shipments. The restart, originally scheduled for January 5, has been pushed back two weeks to January 19.
The true significance of Foxconn's acquisition of Luxgen lies less in the purchase of a single automotive brand than in how the deal helps the company redefine its role and identity at a moment when geopolitics and industrial transformation are converging.
Samsung Electronics' decision to acquire a major advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) business through its subsidiary Harman is widely viewed as a decisive escalation of its ambitions in automotive electronics. Yet the move is also stirring unease among industry observers, who warn that it could complicate Samsung's long-standing partnership with Hyundai Motor Group, raising questions about how the two South Korean giants will navigate an increasingly crowded and competitive automotive technology market.
