• While AI, immersion and connectivity remained focal points at CES 2025, AI topics moved beyond the hype and excitement of the previous year.
• Reinforcing emotional connection between consumers and their vehicles through immersion and connected services continued to be the driving force for the automotive user experiences showcased at CES 2025.
• Collaboration is key to integrating AI that offers value to the end consumer. Examples include partnerships between HERE and AWS, Garmin and Qualcomm, and Harman and Cerence.
• OEMs like BMW and Sony Honda are striving to create strong identities through interior design, immersion and connected services, while other stakeholders like Continental, Qualcomm and Harman are playing into that narrative to create unique experiences.

With artificial intelligence (AI) being unleashed on the public via large language models (LLMs) in 2023, the CES edition of 2024 focused on the new technology. From the automotive perspective, while Volkswagen showcased its vehicles integrated with ChatGPT, software developers like Cerence and semiconductor companies like Qualcomm also demonstrated their AI capabilities.

Beyond AI, immersion and connectivity were showcased as keys to enhancing the automotive user experience. Mercedes announced MB.OS while Sony Honda showcased its AFEELA models, with both focusing on immersive entertainment experiences around audio, gaming and video content to engage the driver at an emotional level. Visteon and Harman launched a pillar-to-pillar projective screen above the instrument panel to offer an alternative to head-up displays (HUDs). Harman and Qualcomm honed in on connectivity to provide drivers with services reaching beyond the car.

Coming to CES 2025, while these three themes of AI, immersion and connectivity remained focal points, AI topics moved beyond the hype and excitement of the previous year to talk about increasing integration and collaborations. Reinforcing emotional connection between consumers and their vehicles through immersion and connected services continued to be the driving force for the automotive user experiences showcased at the summit.

BMW reveals plans for Neue Klasse models

At CES 2025, BMW revealed plans for its ‘Neue Klasse’ models, which will be launched at the end of 2025, featuring Panoramic iDrive that runs on operating system (OS) X and consists of four elements:

User Interfaces Featured in BMW’s ‘Neue Klasse’

Source: BMW

1. Panoramic Vision: A pillar-to-pillar display on top of the instrument panel shows driver information and personalized widgets such as the personal assistant. Panoramic Vision will be rolled out in every Neue Klasse vehicle. This provides BMW with a clear identity in terms of the interior and user interaction. The personal assistant is based on an intelligent LLM powered by Amazon.
2. 3D HUD: Route guidance and automated driving visualizations are combined in one graphic. Depth perception is achieved by combining two HUD technologies.
3. Central touchscreen: Familiar interactions in an ergonomically-shaped display.
4. Steering wheel: The multifunctional steering wheel has provisions for critical driving tasks through physical controls to ensure safe driving.

Overall, this is a promising start to the interior execution of Neue Klasse, providing the driver and passenger with a modern, feature-rich user experience as well as delivering user interfaces that cater to safe driving. This suite of interfaces also provides the interior with a clear identity akin to smartphone or gaming console brands. The resulting emotional connection leads to stronger consumer bonds.

Harman brings Automotive Intelligence

Harman is integrating AI into vehicles through Automotive Intelligence, which combines Collective Intelligence, Perceptual Intelligence and UX Intelligence. Collective Intelligence combines all vehicle sensors on a central computing platform to create an empathetic experience. Perceptual Intelligence creates an emotional experience through personalized sound and vision. Finally, UX Intelligence is aimed at creating a safe place where the consumer’s needs are met, including the generative AI assistance Luna, developed in collaboration with Cerence.

Collective Intelligence Demo by Harman

Source: Counterpoint

Harman brings these experiences to life with technologies including:

• Ready Engage launches generative AI assistant Luna, based on Cerence’s on-device small language model integrated into Ready Vision products, such as the company’s QVUE pillar-to pillar-display introduced in 2024.
• Ready Care calculates an engagement score for the driver, which can be used for issuing warnings. This is done by measuring breathing and heart rates and detecting drowsiness, distraction and stress through sensors not visible to the driver.
• Ready Connect provides a suite of telematics control units (TCUs) that enable modular upgrades from 4G to 5G to satellite communications to improve the vehicle’s connectivity in collaboration with Qualcomm.

Harman, therefore, continues to drive and combine AI, connectivity and immersion trends along with its technology partners with a focus on creating intelligent and empathetic user experiences.

Continental’s ‘Emotional Cockpit’

The movement towards emotional experiences has also been taken note of by Continental with its ‘Emotional Cockpit’, which aims to engage all human senses to create a bond with the vehicle as a software product. This is achieved by combining new materials and unique design elements from Swarovski with display technology. Alternatively, the E Ink trimline display stretches from pillar to pillar and is home to an AI assistant as well as personalized widgets.

Continental ‘Emotional Cockpit’

Source: Counterpoint

HERE, AWS to develop next-generation mapping, location services

HERE and AWS have joined forces in a long-term partnership to develop next-generation mapping and location services using AI. High-precision mapping, which leads to accurately delivered automated driving (AD) functions, improves the ADAS Cockpit Experience. One of the unique aspects showcased in the demo was its ability to show routes that are more traversable by vehicles with different levels of autonomy. For example, this would let a passenger vehicle select a route that it could travel in L2+ or L3 rather than a route that would need manual control. Moreover, the HERE AI Assistant can address location-specific questions and optimize journeys as they unfold. This solution further provides OEMs with the ability to brand their location services and innovate fast to meet mobility demands, something that Sony Honda is applying in the AFEELA.

Garmin expands smart cockpit solution Unified Cabin 2025

Garmin unveiled the expansion of its next-generation smart cockpit solution Unified Cabin 2025, based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Cockpit Elite Platform. Unified Cabin is increasing the number of cabin electronics that run off a single System on Chip (SoC) based on the Android Automotive OS. This collaboration allows for new features including immersive personalized themes (that can be created using the generative AI-powered voice assistant), six displays across the vehicle, individual and personalized audio zones, and personalized generative AI assistants for each seat powered by the Snapdragon Cockpit Elite platform. Unified Cabin 2025, therefore, showcases a strong smart cabin offering that provides integrated user experiences across the vehicle with high levels of personalization. This solution further highlights how immersion within the entire cabin can be achieved robustly. Finally, Garmin’s expertise in wearables further enhances the functionality of this offering.

Hyundai Mobis, ZEISS impress with holographic windshield tech

In terms of user interface innovation, Hyundai Mobis impressed with its holographic windshield technology which it is working on jointly with German optical company ZEISS. A special film called the Holographic Optical Element (HOE) is added to the windshield to transform it into a surface where videos and images can be displayed. This is a significant advancement not only because graphics can be placed wherever needed on the windshield but also because it delivers images to the eye position of the driver or the passenger, allowing for privacy and personalized content. Pre-development of the holographic windshield should be complete by Q2 2026, and it is expected to launch for production in 2027.

Holographic HUD by Hyundai Mobis

Source: Hyundai Mobis

Conclusion

In the automotive space, CES 2025 continued with the key themes of AI, immersion and connectivity to create emotionally engaging user experiences. In terms of AI, automotive players from OEMs to software developers to semiconductor companies are collaborating to integrate parts of the jigsaw puzzle and ultimately create solutions that are more powerful than what can be achieved alone. Examples include collaborations between HERE and AWS, Google and Qualcomm, and Harman and Cerence.

Engagement at an emotional level remains key to forming lasting connections between software-led automotive products and consumers. BMW strives to shape a clear identity through its vehicles’ interiors with features that foster engagement and relationships. Harman, Continental, Garmin and many more feed into this narrative to create unique experiences that allow the auto industry to compete with software-defined experiences in other technology sectors, such as mobile devices and gaming consoles, which will become increasingly important as automated driving features are rolled out.