Flying Cars and Every Significant Automobile Update from CES 2024

As tradition dictates, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2024 was filled with several cool automobile concepts among other futuristic tech innovations. Over 4000+ exhibitors and almost everyone had something interesting to show.
We have shortlisted the best automobile concepts here. And yes, a few of these will be available for customers soon. Let’s dive into it. 

Honda unveiled two EV concepts: Saloon and Space Hub

These vehicles are going to be part of Honda’s upcoming '0 series,' which is going to be an EV series for global markets. The Honda Saloon concept has wing doors like the Tesla Model X. Honda said they are developing an advanced operating system for its '0 series' EVs using AI and driver data to make these cars safe and human-centric. These cars will be going to the production line in 2026 and have features like Level-3 ADAS, and a foldable steering wheel, among others. We’ll have a closer look when these concepts are launched and available to purchase.

MERCEDES-BENZ G-WAGON GOES ELECTRIC

The G-Wagon, a name which is conceived as a luxurious off-roader, now has an electric version. Mercedes-Benz has showcased the new EQG, which is almost ready to launch this year in the US.

This unveil was one of the most interesting cars at CES 2024. The EQG will be available for consumers to buy soon, unlike most of the concepts at CES, which may never make it to the production line.

The EQG will have four motors, each motor placed on each wheel, allowing the electric off-roader to perform its coolest party trick, the G-Turn. In the G-Turn, the EQG can turn 180 or 360 degrees by propelling its left side motors in the opposite direction of the right side motors, just like bulldozers. Mercedes-Benz uses AI and advanced sensors to perform G-Turn. We expect the G-Turn feature to be available to the buyers.

FLYING CAR

It seems that flying cars are not far away from our everyday reality! The Chinese EV manufacturer XPENG has showcased the AEROHT eVTOL flying car concept. It has drone-like folding arms with propellers that can be folded and completely hidden inside the car when not in use. Interestingly, one can’t tell by looking at it that this car has propellers inside and can fly.

XPENG has shown its AeroHT eVTOL model flying previously. The flying car has cameras instead of the outside rearview mirrors (ORVMs), and the whole dashboard is a screen. We expect the production model to be different from the concept vehicle. XPENG says it’ll be available to pre-order by the end of 2024, followed by shipping next year.

KIA'S BIG LINE-UP

KIA PV 5 is a futuristic-looking modular electric vehicle. It can change its size as required; consumers can take out the steering wheel. It can even become a mini electric truck. Kia boasts PV 5 is ideal for being used as a taxi, and it can also become a robot taxi. Looking at this, Uber has already signed a deal with Kia to be one of the first customers of this car when it goes into production in 2028.

Along with this, KIA also had KIA EV 3, a compact EV SUV, and EV4, a sedan EV concept on display. Not much is known about these two concepts, but it is exciting to see KIA building a whole EV lineup with a small EV, compact SUV, sports coupe, sedan, and full-size SUV.

LG ALFA-ABLE

LG has shown a concept car full of displays; its name is “LG Alfa-able,” which is a combination of the symbol alfa and the word able. This Sony concept car shows future mobility, and that’s why this car has a completely autonomous driving feature. But if you like to take control of things manually, there is also a steering-wheel hidden in the centre console that can be pulled out by the press of a button. It has a couple of massive displays at the front, and the front seats rotate 180 degrees, so you can have conversations with your friends in the back seat, while the car drives itself to your destination or when you enable the lounge mode. 

where 4 massive gaming displays unfold on the roof of the car and LG has provided gaming controllers as well as a fridge and what not, but, as we all know it's a concept car, and this may never make it to the roads but if it does, we will definitely have a closer look at it and let you know what all have made it to the production model from this concept.

HYUNDAI'S CRABWALKER

Hyundai showcased its Hyundai Mobion EV concept, which is based on the IONIQ 5. It has independent motors, braking, and steering system for all 4 wheels that allow it to do a lot of cool things such as 360-degree turn, crabwalk, move sideways, and more. All these features can help park this car in tighter spaces while off-roading and more. Hyundai says it’ll be available to purchase in 2028.

AI-LOADED VOLKSWAGEN CARS

Chat GPT in Volkswagen cars. Yes, Volkswagen showcased Chat-GPT in their electric vehicles. It will be available to customers later this year. But it will be in those vehicles with Volkswagen’s IDA voice assistant. I don’t think this is going to be as useful as it sounds because most basic tasks are already done flawlessly by car voice assistants, but it is what it is. Volkswagen has done it.

SONY AND HONDA'S AFEELA EV

Sony-Honda partnership has shown the Afeela EV concept. They drove the car on stage using a PlayStation controller, and it's one of the coolest things about this car. No, this feature won’t make it to the production version. It was done only for the demonstration. It has a yoke-style steering wheel and a display on the dashboard, or I can say the whole dashboard is wide but thin display. There is a display at the front between the headlamps, which Sony calls the 'Media Bar'. It also has ADAS features built-in, but this is a concept car, and the production variant might be different from this car. Sony Honda Mobility says that the Afeela car will be production-ready in 2026.

MERCEDES-BENZ LIGHTENING ENTRY-LEVEL SEDAN

The title that I have created is dedicated to the Mercedes Benz CLA-Class. 

This car has several exterior lights. It has lights on its front grille and ambient lights on the full glass roof, which gives a distinguished identity. The CLA-Class is based on the Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture (MMA), and it claims a driving range of 750 km and supports up to 250KW DC fast charging due to its 800-volt architecture build.

CONCLUSION

The above-mentioned vehicles are still in the development stage. They will take years to be production-ready. Plus, the manufacturers of such vehicles will require thorough R&D and approvals from the concerned authorities to be road-legal.