BMW, Mercedes-Benz decided to give the CES 2022 a miss

KUALA LUMPUR: The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is one of the renowned tech events of the world, whose 2022 season is going to be held between January 5 and 8, 2022 in Las Vegas, but now it seems that due to the pandemic the fate of the show hangs in balance. Due to the rising cases of COVID-19 Omicron variant all around the world, many tech companies have decided not to attend the event in person. Added to the list are German automotive brands BMW and Mercedes-Benz. 

As per the reports by US media, BMW was supposed to unveil a new M Performance model of its all-electric iX SUV with more than 600 PS of maximum output. It was also expected to display several other innovations at the show, including colour-changing body panels, a hi-tech vehicle theater system, etc. Now, the company will showcase these techs through digital means. 

“For many years, the BMW Group has been presenting innovations at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Due to the pandemic situation, the BMW Group will move all planned media activities at CES to a fully digital programme live-streamed from Germany,” the company said in a statement.

In the same way, Mercedes-Benz will also rely on digital means to showcase its products and innovations. “As the health and safety of our customers, partners, employees, and guests are our highest priority, in view of the current situation in connection with the Covid-19 virus, we’ve decided to cancel Mercedes-Benz AG’s participation in CES 2022 after intensive consultations,” the automaker replied to CNet, a US tech publication.

Among the brands that will skip the event in-person are General Motors, Facebook, Twitter, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, T-Mobile, and Intel.

However, the organizers of the event stated that 60 new exhibitors are added to the in-person attendance list. Gary Shapiro, CTA president ensured through a Linkedin post that “CES will and must go on. It will have many more small companies [compared to> large ones and may have big gaps on the show floor. It may be messy, but innovation is messy, risky, and comfortable.” 

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