Astounding next level electronic assists and some sweet electric rides are being showcased in Las Vegas.

THE world’s biggest tech fair has kicked off and as has become usual, car brands are working the room.

Here’s a wrap of some of the more intriguing automotive announcements from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, in alphabetical order.

Honda went big with unveiling the ‘Zero’ Series, so-called because this new lineup will be a 'year zero' or a fresh start - the ‘Saloon’ (above) and ‘Space Hub’ (below) concepts preview common platform cars that be sold across the world from 2026.

Styling drama is obvious and design affects everything; including the badge, which is a subtle re-shaping of the classic Honda ‘H'.

Hard to say which is the more dramatic. The Saloon brings hints of classic seventies supercars and the NSX. Space Hub concept looks, according to one commentator, ‘like someone crossed an MPV with the Space Shuttle, as seen through the lens of a Star Trek set designer.’

Interiors are made from sustainable materials, and there's are clever new touchscreen and instrument setups.

With the homegrown Honda-E small car now out of production, Honda’s current EV strategy has largely involved General Motors technology; that arrangement seems to be temporary. Honda enforces these new cars are 100 percent its own.

Both deliver to a design and engineering strategy that Honda calls ‘thin, light, and wise.' Translation: It believes electrics need to be lighter, roomier and more efficient.

Both have been designed around partly autonomous driving, which Honda is pledging to roll out for use on twisty roads as well as motorways, and it will use AI technology to try to replicate the more natural driving style of a real human being.

Honda isn't yet giving any details on range or performance, it has said that both cars are being designed around charging and battery systems which can top up from 10-80 percent charge in just 10-15 minutes, yet to also suffer only 10 percent battery degradation over 10 years of use.

Hyundai didn’t have a new car but instead presented something of a deep dive into technology it says could hugely influence the ways in which we travel, commute, and drive in the future. Much is related to the ‘h-word’.

Hydrogen. One minute the future, the next the poor cousin to battery power.

Hyundai’s pledge to become a carbon-neutral company by 2045, and to help with that it's establishing two new brands - HTWO and HTWO Grid - which will press on with hydrogen fuel and power projects.

Hyundai has developed the XCIENT Fuel Cell, which the company claims is “the world's first mass-produced fuel cell Class 8 heavy-duty truck.” Some of these are trialling in New Zealand.

It is now also using giant hydrogen fuel cell generators to top up the batteries of race cars when they're racing at tracks where the conventional electric charging system isn't powerful enough. Hayden Paddon, of course, has developed a Kona electric competition car but has said that there are still challenges, one being replenishment in competition events. He’s never discounted hydrogen. Could this programme be of interest to him?

On the more road car-focused end of things, Hyundai is working to move beyond mere software-defined vehicles and into the realm of software-defined everything. This includes a new electronic and computing architecture for cars, which takes the vehicle's cameras, radars and sensors, which gather driving environment data, enabling autonomous driving through the integrated controller, a High-Performance Vehicle Computer (HPVC) embedded within the vehicle. One of the first production uses of this kind of tech will be in Hyundai's subsidiary Motional and a Ioniq 5-based autonomous taxi service ‘Robotaxi’, which operates in South Korea.

Hyundai is also looking at hydrogen-powered mobility modules. One is called DICE, for Digital Curated Experience. It links to your own personal devices, such as your smartphone, and it can 'curate' your journey by not only suggesting music, podcasts, or videos to watch but also keeping an eye out for stress levels (there’s a bio-sensing camera), and automatically re-routing in the case of congestions.

There’s also SPACE, or Spatial Curated Experience. This means that the module cabins are fully adaptable, with moving seats and are able to “support wheelchair users, micro-mobility users and pets through comfortable boarding height control.”

SPACE also extends to after-life use for the modules, which can be combined into a fixed structure called the Pavilion. The idea is that a Pavilion can use its hydrogen fuel cell as a charging point for people who want to top up their electric car, their e-bike or e-scooter, or even a mobile phone.

There's also the City Pod system, which is an "unmanned large-scale mobility system that surpasses the limits of the existing logistics systems based on software.”

Kia returned to CES after a five-year absence to unveil modular vehicles that can be kitted out to fit various purposes.

To demonstrate the full potential of the Platform Behind Vehicle (PBV), Kia had five sample vehicles including the large PV7, tiny smart car-like PV1, and three variations of the first model it plans to introduce, the PV5, which is adaptable for purposes including ride hailing, delivery, and utility. It’ll configure with van, high roof and a chassis cab bodies, with a robotaxi type in the wind, too.

Cabs on PBV vehicles will be fixed, but the rest of the body (excluding the all-important EV skateboard the entire platform is built on) will be able to be swapped out and secured with hybrid electromagnetic and mechanical couplings. Features will be shareable across all vehicles.

Mercedes-Benz was all over the show. literally. Two new electric models, the new CLA - its smallest sedan - and the battery-wed G-Wagen, have been seen previously, but with CLA there was a new tech announcement. It also made bigger headlines with a swathe of artificially-intelligent in-car personal digital assistants.

The CLA at Vegas has a new MBUX Virtual Assistant is part of the equally new MB.OS software setup, which will underpin the next generation Benz cars.

The Virtual Assistant will use generative artificial intelligence (the most famous form of which, currently, is ChatGPT) to power a clever new in-car voice control system which is chattier and more natural in its responses, rather than the 'Computer Says No' systems which rely on you learning specific commands.

Mercedes claims the Virtual Assistant is: “the most human-like interface with a Mercedes-Benz yet. Based on MB.OS, it presents a new face to the customer with natural and empathetic interaction.”

It has four different emotions/ personality traits which it calls Natural, Predictive, Personal and Empathetic. The idea is that the computer can replicate human-like responses so that the effect is more like a conversation with a friend. You can ask it to open the car's windows, choose a music playlist, or even ask it general knowledge questions.

On screen, the Assistant is represented by an animated Mercedes three-pointed star. This can use different visual reactions to show whether the Assistant is speaking, listening, thinking, making a suggestion or providing a warning.

It's combined with a new MBUX Surround Navigation, which basically puts the car and what it can 'see' around itself with the camera system into the navigation. This allows it to, according to Mercedes: “Offer everything the driver needs to know in a single glance. For instance, it shows the type of traffic, be it another car, van, truck or even a cyclist. It shows pedestrians close to the roadside as well as potential hazards. And it superimposes route guidance into a realistic representation of the surroundings - particularly helpful in busy urban environments.”

The MB.OS system will also include a tie-up with Sony Picture's 'RIDEVU' movie and TV streaming service, collectable NFTs will be part of the ownership experience.

To ensure a top-quality audio experience, Mercedes and its traditional stereo supplier, Burmester, have teamed up with Dolby, Amazon, and Audible to provide a new system that combines Dolby Atmos surround sound and connections to the Amazon Music and Audible audiobook libraries so that you can be both immersed in song or stuck into a good book, as you drive. The rollout of this setup will be available in the E-Class and CLE coupe from the end of this year.

There's also a new system that will allow you and your Mercedes to compose your own tunes - sort of. Mercedes has announced that it's working with musician will.i.am to create what’s being called the MBUX Sound Drive.

This will use a series of sensors to turn all of the movements of the driver and the car - recuperation, acceleration, steering, and braking - and convert them into different musical sounds which, when combined, form your own sort of personal symphony. And you thought Tesla’s fart generator was advanced …

Volkswagen has used CES to revealed teaser images of the new-for-2024 Golf GTI, which itself previews the forthcoming updates to the more conventional Golf hatchback. Yes, updates: This is a mid-life refresh, not a new generation.

It is also using the new model to demonstrate the VW Group’s integration of ChatGPT artificial intelligence in its vehicles; since VW’s announcement, Skoda has also said it is onboard.

With the GTI, not all that much seems to have altered; new light designs and a new rear diffuser, as well as a new front bumper design seem to feature, but the car’s dazzle camo makes it hard to pick out every detail.

By contrast, the interior is not hidden at all. There's much the same basic structure as before, but now it has a new, larger central touchscreen, similar to the one for the 2024 Tiguan SUV, which means it gets toolbars at the top and bottom for easier navigation.

The ChatGPT system will allow the driver to access more than just climate control functions or navigation systems with their voice. VW claims the system will “be helpful on many levels” during a car journey, offering drivers conversation and interactions in “more intuitive language.”

The company also says the system will be seamlessly integrated, with activation via voice command (a driver would just have to say "Hello IDA") or a button on the steering wheel. Then, the system will automatically prioritise whether a vehicle function should be executed, or whether to search for a destination or adjust the temperature.

Naturally, VW is at pains to point out that ChatGPT has no access to vehicle data, and questions and answers are deleted immediately to ensure the highest possible level of security.