20 October 2010

Consumer Electronics Show to highlight Auto Tech

The Detroit News


Two top automotive executives will be keynote speakers at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in January.

Alan Mulally, the chief executive of Ford Motor Co. and Rupert Stadler, chief executive of Audi AG, will address the trade show, underscoring the increased focus on automotive electronics, said Gary Shapiro, CES president.

"This will be the most auto-centric show yet," Shapiro said at a briefing in Detroit on Thursday.

The show will have areas set aside for electric vehicles and for technology that promotes safe driving, Shapiro said.

For Mulally, this is his third straight year as a keynote speaker, putting him in rarified air with Bill Gates, head of Microsoft. Shapiro said scores of executives seek to be among the five or six keynote speakers.

The trade show runs Jan. 6-9 in Las Vegas and is expected to attract about 125,000 attendees, including 25,000 from outside the United States.

In addition to Ford and Audi, the show will have representatives from General Motors Co.'s OnStar division, Toyota Motor Corp. and Hyundai Motor Corp., to name a few. About 116 exhibitors will be showing vehicle technology, Shapiro said.

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