When you hear the term “consumer electronics” the first thing you think of is your laptop, smartphone or tablet, not a car.  As odd as it might sound that cars are making it to this annual show, the presence of automakers has grown to the point that nearly every automaker in the industry is at the show now.  Not only are they all present, some of the top representatives from each company were there to show off their wares and talk up the buzzwords that made them sound like they belonged with the technology driven items shown off.

As you see the various cars that are present at the show you may wonder why so many automotive companies have come to play.  They haven’t come because this is a great place to show off their new technology, even though it is, but they have come because they must partner with the Silicon Valley folks in order to have the features and equipment they want in their vehicles.  This is the only way to stay relevant in their own industry, which is the main reason behind these auto companies have been coming to the auto show for many years.

The partnerships we see at this show include ways to have drones fly out of the bed of trucks, have connectivity features from specific tech companies installed in the car and in the case of GM a partnership with the ride sharing company Lyft, that will compete directly with Uber and eventually bring about a fleet of autonomous vehicles that will be ready to drive you wherever you need to go.  Even though there are tons of buzzwords tossed around at a show like this, these companies need the partnerships in order to survive, which will be a boost for both industries.

Other ways the electronics companies partner with the automotive ones we enjoy the opportunity for more entertainment.  We love our electronics and being connected which means we want our connectivity to continue into the cabin of our vehicles.  This means automotive companies need to rely on the electronics industry to offer some great ways to be entertained inside the car while also keeping your eyes on the road.  As we see more models, such as the BMW 7-Series, with at least a semi-autonomous driving vehicle that makes it so you have more time to sit back and watch a video on the large screen.

There is no doubt we will continue to see more electronics inside our vehicles as the years progress and eventually we will have fully autonomous driving that will let us have cars that drive themselves.  You know the marriage between the electronics industry and carmakers will continue to be one outstanding partnership that will be enjoyed by all of us for many years.  As we see more products offered on the market that are great to drive and fully of awesome electronics we will get the pleasure of seeing more and more of the automakers’ unveilings happening at the Consumer Electronics Show each year.