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⚡ This Week’s Big Charge
💡 CES 2026: Advancements, Hype and a Surprising Disconnect
Once again in Las Vegas, the world’s biggest tech trade show has effectively become an auto show. An entire convention center hall at CES 2026 was yet again devoted to “mobility,” as automakers, suppliers, and startups alike showcased their bold bets on autonomous driving—arguably the most exciting new technology right now.
That optimism spanned everything from robotaxis to advanced consumer ADAS, with AI, lidar, cameras and radar taking center stage. Every player there pitched competing paths to eyes-off highway driving, urban autonomy and, ultimately, true self-driving.
But at the show this week, enthusiasm for electric vehicles was about as hard to find as a decent, affordable restaurant within walking distance of The Strip.
I had many conversations with analysts, engineers and executives about “meeting customers where they are,” “powertrain reality,” “overestimated EV demand,” and a broader shift back to what one Bosch executive called “natural propulsion.”
The undercurrent was clear: EVs are out, but internal combustion and hybrids (which have somehow shifted from a virtue-signaling joke to the fastest-selling cars on the market) are in.
Without the EV tax credits and tougher fuel economy regulations in the U.S., and Europe no longer pushing an internal-combustion ban by 2035, nobody seems in a hurry to switch to battery power.
But I’m wondering: how do you square that with the autonomy boom?
-McKinsey
🔩 On CES’ EV Pessimism:
In years past, CES has been the place to debut a hot new EV or EV concept. Honda’s 0 Series models, Kia’s PBV vans, the now-dead Fisker Ocean—all appeared there first.
This year? Besides the Sony-Honda Afeela SUV Prototype, pretty much crickets.
This reflects a broader EV pullback as sales slid at the end of 2025 and automakers scrapped previously announced models.
The consultants have their say: Deloitte’s latest Global Automotive Consumer Study indicates that 61% of Americans intend to buy a gas vehicle in 2026. That’s 26% for hybrids and 7% for EVs, only a modest bump from last year.
McKinsey data presented to reporters at the House of Journalists shows investment in autonomous driving outpaces that of electrification by billions of dollars, while U.S. and European battery supply now far exceeds demand.
Bosch, the world’s biggest automotive supplier, seems more pessimistic. It predicts 70% of cars in North America will have an engine of some sort in 2035—a far cry from when the 2030s were seen to be mostly electric.
Instead, at CES, automakers and suppliers wanted to showcase autonomous vehicles, in-car AI and a shift to robotics.
But those two things are incongruent if you look a bit deeper.