Ministeri adds that Chinese OEMs, ahead in software compared to Western makers in terms of autonomous driving tech, he believes, weren't on show because right now they cannot launch any vehicles in the US. CES, therefore, is simply no longer “the right for stage for them.”

Andy Palmer, former COO of Nissan and former CEO of Aston Martin Lagonda, goes further. “CES used to matter to carmakers because the industry was borrowing technological credibility from Silicon Valley. Today that relationship has flipped. Automotive tech is no longer an exciting novelty, it’s to be expected,” he says. "Electrification, software, and ADAS are now industrialized technologies. They are no longer concept-stage theater pieces that need a Las Vegas stage.”

More importantly, Palmer, Nothard, and Ministeri all state that the center of gravity for the auto world has moved—both technologically and geographically—to, of course, China. This makes China's main auto expo, which alternates each year between Shanghai and Beijing, now the location where carmakers must posture and preen.

Indeed, as WIRED pointed out in May last year, Shanghai 2025 wasn’t just a car show—it was a warning to the West. Having poached some of the best Western auto talent, China’s car industry set about showing how it was going to dominate globally in charging rates, ranges, design, tech, and sheer volumes. Detroit and Munich were put on notice. It was blindingly obvious to all in the industry where the new power lay.

“Shanghai has become more strategically important than CES for many manufacturers,” Palmer says, “because that’s where the fastest innovation cycles, supply chains, and consumer demand now sit. If you want to signal the future of automotive, that’s increasingly where you do it.”

Chinese automakers aren't merely content with showing off on home turf, though. So with CES out of the question, they've been looking for a replacement. Step forward Munich's IAA Mobility, now Europe's largest car convention following the