Are cars gadgets now, or did CES just turn into a car show? It doesn’t matter: The annual mecca of all things electronic is now crawling with cars. Whether they’re autonomous, electric, or just loaded to the gills with speakers, vehicles of every type are showing up at the Las Vegas Convention Center and we’ve rounded up some of the best Cars of CES 2020.
Manufacturers are continuing to make announcements as we speak, so keep checking back as the show goes on for the latest CES updates.
How do you sell an electric SUV in a field that’s suddenly swimming in electric SUVs, from Rivian’s R1S to Tesla’s Model X? California mode. With the press of a button, Fisker’s Ocean drops nine windows — including the rear glass and a monolithic full-length sunroof — to bring the outside in.
The Ocean also boasts 300 miles of range, and an optional solar roof that can provide 1,000 miles of solar-powered driving a year. A partnership with Electrify America means top-ups at more than 370 charging stations are free. Fisker is also gunning for affordability with a reasonable $37,500 starting price, as well as flexible, app-based leasing that allows you to commit to owning one for as short as a month.
Remember Faraday Future? The startup took CES by storm a few years back with a design that looked like absolutely nothing else, then quietly lapsed into obscurity as its Chinese parent company burned billions. Just a year later, we suspected Faraday was dead, or maybe never alive to begin with.
But at CES 2020, Faraday Future is back to silence the naysayers, and as the first journalists to get behind the wheel, we can attest that they’re not messing around. Hitting 60 miles per hour in 2.3 seconds, the 1,050-horsepower Faraday Future FF-91 is a rocket ship-like vehicle unlike anything we’ve ever driven. The cavernous back seat could host a cocktail party, and it responds to voice commands like KITT from Knight Rider.
With a 48-inch screen wrapping around the dash, the Byton M-Byte boasts an interior so futuristic, it makes Teslas look downright antiquated. We’ve seen it at CES before, but this year Byton claims it will be hitting public streets (in China) by the summer, and announced a partnership with ViacomCBS for content. Not that you’ll be watching South Park while you drive: The launch model will only support level 2 autonomy. Of course, you can also use it for driving functions, like finding the next EV charging station, or getting real-time weather updates.
The iconic Jeep Wrangler is known for never straying far from the offroad-first mentality of its 1941 forefather, which makes it an unlikely candidate for a hybrid drivetrain. But it’s 2020, it’s CES, and the Wrangler is finally going electric. Full details on the powertrain aren’t available yet, but we suspect the instant-on torque of electric motors will only make the Wrangler even more of a beast on trails. And hey, it should use a lot less gas getting there.
Follow our live blog for more CES news and announcements.
Volkswagen’s newest EVs in China are making its American and European models look unusually conservative.
With Xpeng’s help, VW has introduced 800-volt charging and advanced urban driving assistance. The new VEGA technology package brings its locally developed vehicle platforms and CEA electronic architecture under one umbrella. Bloomberg reports that Volkswagen intends to update VEGA every three months. Western buyers can find pieces of that package, but not the whole thing in a Volkswagen.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?