Past Event Held January 6, 2026. CES - Las Vegas

Connect2Car 2026: Transforming the Mobility Experience – Exploring New Frontiers

The 26th annual Connect2Car at CES explores the the mobility experience as it continues to evolve as does the experience. We explore a future where transportation is intelligent, interconnected, and no longer limited to the automobile.

This past event covered these important and thought-provoking topics:

Automotive AI – Unleashing New Possibilities & Experiences

Description: Creating opportunities for collaboration within the Automotive AI community can be challenging but generative AI potentially can help the mobility and connected vehicle achieve a safer and more intuitive experience for both driver and passengers.
Moderator: John Ellis – President USA & Head of Product - Codethink
Presenter: Madison Beebe – Director Software/Tech Strategy – Ford Motor Co.
Presenter: Yansong Chen – Ph.D. PMP – Founder and CEO - ROPIX LLC
Presenter: Maurice Dantzler – Executive Director - Cummins
Presenter: Rebeca Delgado – Vice President Autonomy Al - Torc Robotics
Presenter: Professor Dirk Slama – Vice President - Bosch
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 6
View the Session Recording: Watch Video

Transforming the Vehicle Experience – Exploring New Frontiers

Description: The acceleration of new technology integration to vehicles - like AI, Augmented Reality, Computer Vision, Immersive Experiences, Real-time 3D, Gamification and more - continue to enhance and expand the consumer experience. Attend this session to gain deeper insight into how to plan, design, develop, and engineer for experiences that build loyalty, stand-out from the crowd, and matter most to consumers. Learn about the opportunities and impact of strategic partnerships, regional differences, and deep collaboration in delivering meaningful experiences.
Moderator: Parrish Hanna – Global Director – N-Dream | KPIT
Presenter: Nicole Johnson – UX Manager – Scout
Presenter: Daniel Grossman – Former CEO Chariot (Ford) & COO Maven (GM)
Presenter: Trent Wheeler – Head of Innovation – Gracenote
Presenter: Taru Barth – Director – Qt Group
Presenter: Eric Wood – SVP Vehicle Experience – 42dot
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 6
View the Session Recording: Watch Video

Software Defined Vehicles (SDV) – From Vision to Reality

Description: The Software Defined Vehicle (SDV) has rapidly progressed beyond a theoretical concept. Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), Tier 1 suppliers, software developers, and engineering service providers are engaging in collaborative efforts to develop next-generation software-centric architectures. These architectures aim to enable a new range of hyper-personalized consumer experiences. To successfully navigate this transition, it is essential to focus on software commercialization, which involves establishing new partnerships, refining product development processes, standardizing common data models, creating scalable software solutions, and generating new revenue streams. This panel will discuss the challenges and collaborative opportunities within the supply chain to address these issues collectively, moving away from the traditional commodity-based approach of the past.
Moderator: Matt Jones – Executive Director - Global Technology Platforms - Ford Motor Company
Presenter: John Heinlein, Ph.D – Chief Marketing Officer – Sonatus
Presenter: Johan Lundén – Chief Executive Officer – Coretura
Presenter: Tim Yerdon – Executive Director - SAE Industry Technologies Consortia
Presenter: Aurora Sere-Schneider – VP Automotive IT Engineering – AUMOVIO
Presenter: Judy Curran – Chief Technology Officer - Automotive – Synopsys
Presenter: Maria Anhalt – Chief Executive Officer – Elektrobit
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 6
View the Session Recording: Watch Video

The State of In-Vehicle Payment – Trends, Challenges & Opportunities

Description: The automotive and payments industries are converging rapidly, bringing new opportunities and challenges for in-vehicle payment (IVP) solutions. This panel brings together experts from OEMs, payment providers, authentication specialists, and technology leaders.
Moderator: Suzanne Murtha – Vice President Global Advanced Mobility, Payment Systems and Automation - AECOM
Presenter: Tom Nipper – Head of Sales, North America Energy & Auto Mobility - J.P. Morgan
Presenter: Cathi Chinn – Vice President Innovation - Verra Mobility
Presenter: Cynthia Hollen – Vice President Innovation - Mavi.io
Presenter: John Moon – Managing Director IVP - Mochanix
Presenter: Mohamed Abouelenin – Vice President Product Architecture & Acceptance - Mastercard
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 6
View the Session Recording: Watch Video

Automotive Cybersecurity – The Road Ahead

Description: Automotive cybersecurity and privacy is crucial because it protects vehicle occupants, their data, and the vehicle itself from malicious cyberattacks. As vehicles become more connected and reliant on software, the potential attack surface expands, making robust cybersecurity measures and the use of AI essential. AI plays a crucial role in automotive cybersecurity by enabling faster, more accurate, and proactive threat detection and mitigation.
Moderator: Joby Jester – Associate Partner – Automotive Security - IBM
Presenter: Chuck Brokish – Director of Automotive Business Development - Green Hills Software
Presenter: Jennifer Tisdale – Senior Director – Upstream Security
Presenter: Karl Heimer – Founder CyberAuto Challenge, Co-Founder CyberTruck Challenge
Presenter: John Heldreth – Founder & CEO - Automotive Security Research Group
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 6
View the Session Recording: Watch Video

Seeking Success - Startups to Unicorns

Description: Startups are at the heart of innovation. They are unburdened by legacy systems or outdated practices, giving them the flexibility to explore new ideas and experiment with unconventional solutions. Hear from PLUG and PLAY, a few unicorns and up and coming mobility startups on building the next generation of technologies that are changing the mobility landscape as we know it.
Style: Hosted by PLUG and PLAY
Moderator: Logan Azelton – Director of Detroit Innovation at PLUG and PLAY Tech Center
Presenter: Sean Ackley – VP of Energy, Charging & Infrastructure - North America at Einride US, Inc.
Presenter: Sobhan Khani – Partner & VP of Smart Cities - Plug and Play Tech Center
Presenter: Johannes Rott – Vice President Smart Cities - Plug and Play Tech Center
Presenter: Natalya Lopareva – CEO & Founder - Algorized
Presenter: Cynthia Hollen – Vice President Innovation - Mavi.io
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 6
View the Session Recording: Watch Video

2025 CES Event: 25th Annual Connect2Car: Mobility 2050

Last CES we presented The 25th Annual Connect2Car at CES exploring the year 2050, when transportation is much more than the car and the mobility ecosystem provides a seamless door-to-door journey.

This past event covered these important and thought-provoking topics:

Mobility Intel Report

Description: The future of mobility and the related infrastructure as revealed by a leading mobility research expert. We will take a step outside today and get a glimpse into tomorrow. Join us as we embark on a journey to the future of Mobility 2050.
Presenter: Steve Greenfield – CEO & Founder - Automotive Ventures
Date Presented: Tuesday, Jan. 7
View the Session Recording: Watch Video
View Speakers Presentation: Download

Next Level Innovation

Description: Attend this session to gain deeper insights into what is possible with taking the automotive interactive experience to a whole new level to improve the driving experience and differentiate the vehicle brand. The acceleration of new technology like AI, Connectivity, Augmented Reality, Computer Vision, Immersive Experiences, Real-time 3D, and Gamification technologies is rapidly setting a new bar for manufactures to exceed consumer expectations.
Moderator: John Ellis – President USA & Head of Product - Codethink
Presenter: Sabina Schneider – Chief Solutions Officer – Globant
Presenter: Madison Beebe – Director Software/Tech Strategy – Ford Motor Co.
Presenter: Jennifer Dukarski – Emerging Technology, Automotive & Media Attorney – Butzel Long
Presenter: Joseph Perry – Executive Director Automotive Streaming Entertainment - SONY
Presenter: Jonathan Moore – Director Advanced Systems - exida LLC
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 7
Time: 10:00 AM - 10:40 AM
View the 2024 Session Two Recording: Watch Video

Creating the Ultimate Vehicle Experience

Description: It’s no secret that vehicle experiences are rapidly evolving. More computing power, new design tools and the introduction of AI leveraging available data is changing the status quo. It is now possible to automate many decisions and anticipate driver preferences creating unique and highly interactive experiences. This in turn enables the potential for new services, revenue models, interactions, and feature/functionality enhancement during the life of the vehicle. This creates an open opportunity for the entire supply chain to innovate, collaborate and standardize around common data models, API’s and interfaces. The overall vehicle experience or “the Journey” is quickly becoming more about what content, capabilities, functions and flexible interfaces must be enabled to support the use cases of today as well as those yet unknown that will drive future experiences.
Moderator: Matt Jones – Executive Director - Global Technology Platforms - Ford Motor Company
Presenter: Arianne Walker – Chief Evangelist - Amazon Smart Vehicles
Presenter: Parrish Hanna – Senior Director Automotive Experience - Capgemini
Presenter: Rebeca Delgado – Chief Technology Officer - Intel Automotive
Presenter: Tim Yerdon – Executive Director - SAE Industry Technologies Consortia
Date Presented: Tuesday, Jan. 7
View the Session Recording: Watch Video

Vehicle Payments - The Road Ahead

Description: Vehicle-related commerce is a growing topic of major interest with drivers, OEMs, Tier-one, payment companies, and merchants alike. Development teams from payment technology service providers and merchants need to engage and collaborate with OEM’s and Tier 1’s to enable a safe and secure transaction experience for the end customer (the driver). During this session, panelists or speakers representing automotive, retail, and payment ecosystems will explore successful strategies for enabling in-vehicle payments, targeted advertising, discounted offers, points of interest, and other convenience features for occupants of connected vehicles.
Moderator: Suzanne Murtha – Vice President Global Advanced Mobility, Payment Systems and Automation - AECOM
Presenter: Cynthia Hollen – CEO - Mavi.io
Presenter: Cathi Chinn – Vice President of Innovation - Verra Mobility
Presenter: John Moon – Managing Director – Mochanix
Presenter: Abdullah Pandit – Strategy, Product, Patenerships - JP Morgan Payments
Presenter: JJ (James) Eden – Executive Director & CEO - North Carolina DOT/Turnpike
Presenter: Mohamed Abouelenin – Vice President - Product Development & Innovation - Mastercard
Date Presented: Tuesday, Jan. 7
View the Session Recording: Watch Video

Connected Vehicle Safety: Reducing Roadway Risk & Saving Lives

Description: Fatal collisions involving vehicles, pedestrians, and first responders are at an all-time high, but breakthrough advances in vehicle technology are beginning to turn the tide. From in-dash alerting of roadway hazards and disabled vehicles, to outbound delivery of vehicle data for improved emergency response, new vehicle capabilities and functions are showing just how transformative connectivity will be for improving road safety. In this interactive and insightful panel discussion, learn from experts at the cutting edge of new solutions for vehicle data and roadway safety to learn how connected vehicles are paving the way for a safer future in automotive and transportation.
Moderator: Brian Tegtmeyer – NHTSA
Presenter: Tim Van Goethem – Chief Product Officer - Emergency Safety Solutions
Presenter: Jennifer Kirkland, MS, ENP, CPE, RPL – Colorado State 911 Program Manager
Presenter: Jim Lanier – Global Public Safety Engagement Manager - OnStar
Presenter: Steve Coker – Senior Vice President - SiriusXM Connect
Presenter: Ty Wooten, EMP – Director of Government Affairs - International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED)
Presenter: Kathy Boden Holland – Chief Executive Officer - Mindr
Date Presented: Tuesday, Jan. 7
View the Session Recording: Watch Video

Mobility Innovations: Unleashing New Possibilities

Description: Creating opportunities for collaboration within the mobility community can be challenging but potentially can help achieve a safer and more intuitive experience for both the driver and passengers.
Style: Hosted by PLUG and PLAY with companies on stage to reveal their new innovative technologies and solutions that are in the adoption process for both automakers and tier-ones.
Moderator: Logan Azelton - Director of Detroit Innovation at Plug and Play Tech Center
Opening Remarks: Chris Coulter - Lead CampX Hub NA at Volvo Group
Presenter: Jeremy Agulnek SVP Connected Vehicle – HAAS Alert
Presenter: Niclas Gyllenram – Chief Executive Officer - Aiden
Presenter: Cynthia Hollen – Chief Executive Officer - Mavi.io
Presenter: Aditi Desai – Director of Partnerships - Voltpost
Date Presented: Tuesday, Jan. 7
View the Session Recording: Watch Video