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The best car and technology reveals from CES 2024 were less about traditional new-car launches and more about software-defined vehicles, modular electric mobility, AI assistants, digital cabins, and transportation beyond the road. Kia’s Platform Beyond Vehicle strategy, BMW’s in-car entertainment demonstrations, Volkswagen’s ChatGPT integration, Mercedes-Benz’s MBUX Virtual Assistant, Supernal’s S-A2, and Sony Honda Mobility’s AFEELA prototype defined the automotive story. Lenovo, Rabbit, and LG supplied some of the clearest named consumer products.
Short answer: The most important car and technology reveals at CES 2024 were not conventional new-car launches. Kia’s Platform Beyond Vehicle strategy showed how electric vehicles could become configurable commercial platforms; AFEELA and BMW treated the cabin as a software and entertainment environment; Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz put generative AI at the center of the vehicle interface; and Supernal pushed the conversation beyond roads with an electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing concept. Lenovo, Rabbit, and LG added some of the clearest named consumer products.
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That distinction matters. Some of CES 2024’s most memorable automotive announcements were concepts or demonstrations, not vehicles you could order. And one of the event’s headline prototypes, AFEELA, now has to be read as a case study in how difficult it is to turn a software-defined vehicle vision into a market product.
CES 2024 took place in Las Vegas from January 9 through January 12, with much of the automotive and mobility technology concentrated in the West Hall. The CTA’s final audit counted 138,789 participants and 4,312 registered exhibitors. Rather than list every booth, the reveals below stand out because they offered a clear product, a distinctive technical demonstration, or a meaningful direction for the industry.
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The best CES 2024 car and technology reveals at a glance
| Reveal | What made it significant | Status to understand |
|---|---|---|
| Kia Platform Beyond Vehicle | Recast the EV as a modular platform for passenger, delivery, business, and other use cases. | Future strategy and concept vehicles, not CES 2024 retail products. |
| AFEELA | Presented the car as a connected digital experience built around sensing, AI, software, and entertainment. | CES 2024 prototype; planned AFEELA models were discontinued in 2026. |
| BMW in-car technology | Combined augmented and mixed reality, teleoperated parking, generative-AI assistance, streaming, and gaming. | A mixture of features and demonstrations; availability depends on vehicle and market. |
| Volkswagen IDA with ChatGPT | Put generative AI behind an existing voice assistant instead of requiring a separate AI app. | Announced for selected models and markets, not every Volkswagen vehicle. |
| Mercedes-Benz MBUX Virtual Assistant | Showed the direction of a more natural, personalized conversational interface. | Separate production capabilities from Mercedes-Benz’s broader future vision. |
| Supernal S-A2 | Connected automotive investment with electric aviation and future urban transport. | Electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing product concept, not a certified air-taxi service. |
| Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid | Combined a Windows laptop station with an independently usable Android tablet. | Announced product; Lenovo gave an expected Q2 2024 launch and $1,999 starting price at CES. |
| Rabbit r1 | Tested whether people would buy dedicated AI hardware rather than use AI only through a phone or computer. | Physical product launched at $199, but Rabbit’s performance claims should be treated as company claims. |
| LG SIGNATURE OLED T | Made the television a transparent, room-integrated design object rather than a permanently visible black screen. | Premium display innovation, not a mainstream television recommendation. |
1. Kia’s Platform Beyond Vehicle strategy was CES 2024’s biggest automotive idea
Kia’s most consequential reveal was not one production vehicle. It was the company’s Platform Beyond Vehicle, or PBV, strategy.
Kia showed three Concept PV5 derivatives, along with the Concept PV7 and Concept PV1. The important idea was that a vehicle’s body and interior could be configured around a particular job or lifestyle instead of forcing every customer into a traditional sedan, crossover, or van category.
The proposed use cases included passenger transportation, delivery work, business applications, and other commercial or personal roles. In that sense, Kia was presenting an electric vehicle as configurable infrastructure: a base platform that could support different bodies, interiors, and software-enabled services.
That is more significant than a futuristic body design. Carmakers have long built vans and commercial vehicles for specialized work, but PBV framed modularity as a central product strategy. The vehicle becomes a foundation for a service or workflow. A delivery operator may value cargo access and organization; a business user may need a mobile workspace; a passenger service may prioritize seating and comfort.
What to take away: Kia’s concepts showed automakers thinking about the vehicle by use case rather than by the old list of body styles. They were concepts and a future business direction—not products available to buy at CES 2024—and the announcement did not make every proposed configuration commercially real.
2. AFEELA made the car look like a digital experience
Sony Honda Mobility’s evolved AFEELA prototype was one of the clearest attempts at CES 2024 to redefine what the relationship between a person and a car might feel like.
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AFEELA was compelling because it did not present technology as a collection of isolated options. The larger pitch was that the car could recognize its environment, communicate with occupants, deliver entertainment, and become a continuing digital interface rather than a machine that was important only while moving.
But the current status changes how the CES reveal should be described. On March 25, 2026, Sony, Honda, and Sony Honda Mobility announced that development and launch of the AFEELA 1 and the second AFEELA model would be discontinued. On April 21, 2026, they announced that Sony Honda Mobility would scale down operations and review its structure.
AFEELA therefore belongs in a retrospective about CES 2024 as a significant prototype and as a warning. A highly ambitious software-defined vehicle needs more than an attractive interface and a strong technology story. It also needs a viable business, production plan, software-development pipeline, regulatory path, and customer proposition. AFEELA’s discontinuation does not make the CES prototype irrelevant; it makes the prototype more useful as evidence of both the ambition and the difficulty of the category.
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What to take away: AFEELA was an important demonstration of the car-as-digital-platform idea, but it is not an upcoming vehicle readers should still expect to order.
3. BMW turned the cabin into a computing and entertainment space
BMW’s CES 2024 presentation focused less on a new car and more on what happens inside and around one. Its demonstrations covered augmented and mixed reality, teleoperated parking, generative-AI voice assistance, video streaming, and gaming.
The in-car gaming demonstration was particularly easy to understand. Occupants could use ordinary Bluetooth game controllers, allowing the vehicle’s screen and connectivity to become part of an entertainment setup. If you are evaluating the accessory side of that idea, a standard Bluetooth gaming controller is the relevant category—not a special controller that BMW declared to be an official accessory.
Compatibility still needs to be checked carefully. A controller that pairs with one BMW model or software version may not work identically in another, and availability can vary by market. The vehicle’s operating system, Bluetooth support, account requirements, and whether gaming is enabled only while parked are all practical details that a CES demonstration does not settle.
BMW’s other demonstrations were equally important conceptually:
- Augmented and mixed reality: Digital information could be layered over the physical environment or integrated into a more immersive experience.
- Teleoperated parking: The demonstration pointed toward remote assistance for moving or parking a vehicle, but it should not be confused with universal autonomous driving.
- Generative-AI voice assistance: The vehicle could move beyond fixed command phrases toward more natural interaction.
- Streaming and gaming: The cabin could serve as an entertainment environment, especially when the vehicle is parked or when occupants are passengers.
The strategic shift is clear: automakers increasingly compete over the digital experience inside the vehicle. Screens, voice systems, connectivity, and software updates can shape how a car feels to use long after its mechanical specifications have been compared.
4. Volkswagen put ChatGPT behind a familiar voice assistant
Volkswagen’s ChatGPT announcement was one of CES 2024’s most practical generative-AI stories because it did not require drivers to learn an entirely new device. ChatGPT was integrated into Volkswagen’s existing IDA voice assistant through technology partner Cerence.
Volkswagen described support for selected electric and combustion-engine models. IDA could handle familiar vehicle functions such as infotainment, navigation, and air conditioning, then pass broader questions to the AI system when Volkswagen’s own voice assistant could not answer them.
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That architecture is more useful than simply saying “the car has ChatGPT.” The car’s own assistant remains the interface for vehicle controls, while generative AI acts as an additional answer engine. In principle, the driver does not need to open a separate application or know which system is answering a question.
Volkswagen also said that ChatGPT would not gain access to vehicle data and that questions and answers would be deleted immediately for privacy purposes. Those are important assurances, although the precise implementation and user experience still depend on the relevant vehicle software and market.
Do not read the announcement as meaning that every Volkswagen received the feature at the same time. Model eligibility, infotainment generation, language support, country, and software rollout all matter. A used or older Volkswagen with a voice assistant is not automatically a ChatGPT-enabled Volkswagen.
What to take away: Volkswagen showed the near-term version of automotive AI: generative AI embedded behind a familiar interface, with conventional vehicle controls still handled by the automaker’s own system.
5. Mercedes-Benz MBUX Virtual Assistant aimed at personalization
Mercedes-Benz presented its MBUX Virtual Assistant as a generative-AI-enabled step toward a more natural and personalized relationship between driver and vehicle.
One example Mercedes-Benz described was the possibility of suggesting navigation destinations based on a person’s individual preferences. The company placed that capability inside a broader vision of a hyper-personalized customer experience—one in which the vehicle could better understand a user’s habits, preferences, and needs.
This is a different emphasis from Volkswagen’s ChatGPT integration. Volkswagen focused on expanding what an existing assistant could answer. Mercedes-Benz focused more on the assistant’s relationship with the individual and its ability to make context-sensitive suggestions.
The wording needs restraint. A system that can suggest a destination based on preferences is not necessarily a fully autonomous digital companion. Mercedes-Benz’s references to habits, moods, and needs describe a future-facing direction unless they are tied to a specific production implementation available in a particular vehicle and market.
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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteWhat to take away: Mercedes-Benz identified conversational personalization as a major battleground, but CES vision language should not be mistaken for a complete production feature set.
6. Supernal S-A2 expanded the meaning of automotive mobility
Supernal, Hyundai Motor Group’s advanced-air-mobility company, unveiled the S-A2 electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing product concept at CES 2024.
The S-A2 matters because it shows how a technology show with a major automotive presence can move beyond road vehicles. The concept sits at the intersection of aerospace engineering, electric propulsion, autonomy, and future urban transportation. It represents an attempt to connect the established automotive industry with a possible new layer of urban mobility.
It is also a good example of why CES terminology matters. The S-A2 was a product concept. It was not a certified aircraft, an operational air-taxi service, or an imminent consumer product. The announcement demonstrates an investment direction and a design ambition; it does not establish regulatory approval, commercial routes, or a date when ordinary passengers can book a flight.
What to take away: Supernal’s reveal was less about a product consumers could purchase and more about the transportation systems automakers and technology companies were considering for the next generation of urban mobility.
7. Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid made hybrid computing tangible
The CES 2024 story was not limited to vehicles. Lenovo’s ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid was one of the clearest named products to emerge from the show because it addressed a concrete problem: one person may want a full Windows computer for work and a lighter tablet interface for reading, presenting, or casual use.
The system combined a Windows laptop station with an independently usable Android tablet. The two sections could work together or separately, giving the user access to two operating environments in one piece of hardware.
Lenovo announced expected availability in the second quarter of 2024 and an expected starting price of $1,999. Those were CES launch expectations, not a guarantee of current inventory, configuration, regional availability, or present-day pricing. Anyone shopping for the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid should verify the exact model and seller before treating that announcement price as a buying reference.
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8. Rabbit r1 tested the dedicated-AI-device idea
Rabbit launched the Rabbit r1 AI companion at CES 2024 as a $199 pocket device. The company described rabbitOS as a natural-language operating system built around a Large Action Model, or LAM, intended to navigate online services and perform actions on the user’s behalf.
The r1 was significant not because it proved that a separate AI device was necessary, but because it posed that question in physical form. Consumers already had access to AI through smartphones, browsers, and computers. Rabbit asked whether a small, purpose-built object with its own interface could be simpler or more useful for certain tasks.
Rabbit said presales opened immediately and that shipments would begin in late March 2024. The company’s claims about rabbitOS, its Large Action Model, and the device’s ability to navigate services should remain attributed to Rabbit rather than presented as independently validated performance.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteAvailability, software support, pricing, and day-to-day usefulness should also be checked separately before buying a Rabbit r1 AI device. The original $199 CES announcement is a historical launch price, not proof that the product remains available at that price or that its software experience has stayed the same.
What to take away: Rabbit made the AI-hardware experiment real enough for consumers to evaluate, but the existence of a dedicated device did not by itself establish that it could replace a smartphone, a browser, or the apps it was designed to control.
9. LG SIGNATURE OLED T turned the television into part of the room
LG unveiled the LG SIGNATURE OLED T at CES 2024 as a transparent 4K OLED television using wireless video and audio transmission technology.
The design goal was simple to understand: when the screen is not displaying conventional television content, it can visually recede into the room instead of remaining a large black rectangle. That makes the television closer to an architectural or design element than a conventional display.
LG’s wider CES exhibition also included AI- and IoT-enabled smart-home systems and the Alpha-able mobility concept. That context connected the OLED T to a broader idea of technology adapting to the home and to changing forms of mobility, rather than existing as isolated electronics.
For viewers considering a transparent OLED TV or a premium home-theater display, the OLED T is an interesting technology showcase, not a default recommendation. Transparent display hardware is specialized and premium. Buyers should confirm current retail availability, screen specifications, installation requirements, warranty coverage, and price before treating the CES announcement as a normal shopping option.
It is also worth separating the design innovation from the content experience. A transparent television may make a room feel less dominated by its display, but it does not automatically improve picture quality, streaming catalogs, sound, or viewing comfort compared with a conventional OLED television.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What these reveals say about CES 2024
1. Software became the defining layer of the vehicle
Volkswagen’s IDA integration and Mercedes-Benz’s MBUX Virtual Assistant showed automakers competing over conversation, personalization, and the software that mediates access to vehicle functions. The question is no longer only how much power or range a car has. It is also how easily the car understands a request, how much it can do through software, and how its behavior can change over time.
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AFEELA pushed that idea further by making software, sensing, entertainment, and the digital passenger experience central to the vehicle’s identity. Its later discontinuation is a reminder that software-defined vehicles still have to succeed as cars and businesses.
2. The cabin became a connected computing environment
BMW’s gaming, streaming, augmented- and mixed-reality, voice-assistance, and teleoperated-parking demonstrations all pointed toward a cabin that supports several kinds of interaction. It may be a transport space while moving, an entertainment space for passengers, and a productivity or gaming space while parked.
That future has obvious constraints. Driver distraction, cybersecurity, privacy, software reliability, and rules about when screens or games may be used are as important as the demonstrations themselves. A CES prototype can show what is technically possible without answering how a feature should be deployed in a production vehicle.
3. Vehicle form factors became more modular
Kia’s PBV strategy was the clearest example. The Concept PV5 derivatives, PV7, and PV1 suggested that one underlying electric platform could support different bodies and interiors for different jobs.
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Lenovo’s hybrid computer expressed a similar idea in consumer electronics: a system can change role rather than being limited to one fixed form. In both cases, modularity promises greater flexibility but introduces more complexity in manufacturing, software, maintenance, and customer education.
4. Mobility expanded beyond roads
Supernal’s S-A2 demonstrated how electric propulsion and autonomous or assisted-flight research are becoming part of the larger mobility conversation. CES connected the car industry to possible future air-transport systems, even though the S-A2 remained a concept rather than an approved aircraft or operating service.
5. AI moved into named physical products
Rabbit’s r1 made the dedicated-AI-device idea tangible. Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz showed a different route: place generative AI behind an existing automotive interface. The two approaches raise the same practical question—whether AI is more useful when it is embedded into tools people already use or when it is given a purpose-built device.
CES 2024 offered impressive answers at the demonstration level. It offered fewer definitive answers about long-term reliability, privacy, pricing, updates, and whether customers actually want another device or subscription in their lives.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallWhich CES 2024 reveal mattered most?
- Most consequential automotive strategy: Kia PBV. It addressed how vehicles could be designed and sold around use cases rather than traditional body styles.
- Most practical AI direction: Volkswagen IDA with ChatGPT. It placed generative AI behind a familiar voice interface, while retaining the automaker’s own system for vehicle controls.
- Most ambitious digital-car vision: AFEELA. It combined automotive, entertainment, sensing, and software ideas in one vehicle concept, although the planned models were later discontinued.
- Best cabin-technology showcase: BMW. Its mix of gaming, streaming, mixed reality, AI assistance, and teleoperated parking demonstrated how much of the future car experience may happen inside the cabin.
- Most important adjacent-mobility reveal: Supernal S-A2. It represented the expansion of automotive thinking into electric aviation and urban transportation.
- Clearest named computing product: Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid. Unlike a pure concept, it was announced as a real product with an expected launch window and price, although both need current verification.
- Most interesting display experiment: LG SIGNATURE OLED T. It challenged the assumption that a television should always look like a television when it is not being used.
- Most revealing AI-hardware experiment: Rabbit r1. It turned the debate over dedicated AI devices into a product that consumers could evaluate.
How to read CES announcements without overestimating them
| Label | What it means | What it does not prove |
|---|---|---|
| Concept | A design or technology direction presented for feedback, strategy, or demonstration. | That the vehicle will enter production or be sold to consumers. |
| Prototype | A physical or software example used to demonstrate a proposed experience. | That the final product will have the same features, price, or performance. |
| Demonstration | A feature shown under a particular test setup or controlled environment. | That the feature is available in every model or works identically in everyday use. |
| Announced product | A named product with a proposed price or launch window. | That it remains in production, available in every country, or sold at the original price. |
That framework is especially important for CES automotive coverage. An eVTOL concept is not an approved aircraft. A voice assistant demonstration is not a guarantee of a universal software rollout. A transparent television is not evidence that conventional displays are obsolete. And a prototype that attracts enormous attention can still be discontinued before reaching customers.
The bottom line
CES 2024’s best car and technology reveals were really about the changing definition of a vehicle. Kia treated the EV as a modular platform, BMW treated the cabin as a connected entertainment and computing space, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz treated AI as the next interface, and Supernal extended mobility into the air. AFEELA captured the ambition of the software-defined car—and, after its planned models were discontinued in 2026, the execution risk as well.
The most durable lesson is not that every CES concept will arrive in showrooms. It is that automakers increasingly see the car as software, a service platform, a workspace, and part of a wider mobility network. The companies that turn those ideas into reliable, affordable, privacy-conscious products—not merely polished demonstrations—will determine which CES visions actually last.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the most important car reveal at CES 2024?
The most consequential automotive idea was Kia’s Platform Beyond Vehicle strategy, which treated the electric vehicle as a configurable platform for passenger, delivery, business, and other use cases. Volkswagen’s IDA integration with ChatGPT was arguably the most practical AI direction because it placed generative AI behind an existing voice interface.
Is the AFEELA car still coming to market?
No. AFEELA should now be described as a significant CES 2024 prototype and a case study in the challenges of launching a software-defined vehicle. On March 25, 2026, Sony, Honda, and Sony Honda Mobility announced that development and launch of the AFEELA 1 and second AFEELA model would be discontinued.
Did every Volkswagen get ChatGPT at CES 2024?
No. Volkswagen announced the feature for selected electric and combustion-engine models. Eligibility depends on the model, infotainment generation, language, country, and software rollout. Volkswagen also said ChatGPT would not access vehicle data and that questions and answers would be deleted immediately for privacy purposes.
Was Supernal’s S-A2 an approved air taxi?
The S-A2 was an electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing product concept from Supernal, Hyundai Motor Group’s advanced-air-mobility company. It was not a certified aircraft, an operating air-taxi service, or an imminent consumer product.
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