2026 Tech Highlights: Lidar & AI Automation As Automotive Industry Priorities For Competitive Edge
04. 21. 26IndustryWeek.com | April 16, 2026
By Betrand Rakoto, Director, Global Automotive Practice Leader, Ducker Carlisle
Two trends emerged as the 2026 automotive technology priorities: the acceleration of lidar adoption in advanced driver assistance systems and automated driving solutions, and the growing shift to AI in manufacturing automation.
CES 2026 confirmed both, not with futuristic concept cars and virtual factories, but through applications in the numerous vehicles on display and the ballet of humanoid robots executing complex tasks. For carmakers, suppliers, dealers, and F&I providers, understanding these transformations is no longer optional. It is a prerequisite to remain competitive.
CES has evolved from an automotive moonshot showcase into a working technology forum. It targets industry professionals over media, prioritizing near-term implementation over concept vehicles. That shift makes it a reliable indicator of where investment and development are actually heading, a roadmap, not a wish list.
North America faces United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) renegotiation and shifting emission and fuel economy policies. China is pushing exports aggressively to offset domestic economic slowdown and excess production. Europe is caught between its own regulatory pressures, U.S. tariffs, and Chinese competition. In this environment, exhibitors at CES 2026 made deliberate choices about where to focus—and those choices point clearly toward two priorities: driver assistance and manufacturing automation.
ADAS Is the New Baseline, Not the Differentiator
Technology is improving constantly, and CES exhibitors showcased cameras, radars, and lidars along with software, computing capabilities, and sensor fusion to further democratize ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) and ADS (Automated Driving Solutions). Most vehicles on display featured camera-based and 360-degree vision systems supported by artificial intelligence for better and seamless integration.
The accelerated deployment of robotaxi services in the United States and China, often still experimental, has led to improved implementation of existing systems. They make the point for fully integrated solutions and are adding more automated driven miles every day. From a product perspective, this does not translate into more automated driving in private vehicles, but rather into enhanced safety and greater redundancy. The focus is on SAE Level 3 capabilities (hands-off with driver supervision, often advertised as 2.x) rather than Level 4 or 5 (conditional or total automated driving).
The use of lidar is growing in China, and it is likely to spread in North America and Europe as ADAS gains ground. The two major global suppliers are Chinese. Hesai and Robosense control more than three-quarters of the market. Most demonstration vehicles at CES had a bulge on the roof to accommodate the lidar system.
Camera counts are reaching 9 or more to ensure better awareness of a vehicle’s surroundings and support redundancy. This allows current solutions to increase responsiveness. Computing systems serve reaction more than anticipation, which necessitates continuous technology improvements.
Surprisingly, most vehicles displayed this year were Chinese models, with the exception of a couple of German cars, a Tesla Cybertruck, and the Afeela booth. Chinese brands were clearly testing the water with American visitors.
Current restrictions are protecting the U.S. market from Chinese BEVs. But they are clearly cutting their teeth and looking to expand beyond Mexico, as China recently signed an agreement with Canada to export 49,000 EVs per year starting in 2026 (of which 50% must be priced under $35,000 from 2030 onward). This is important as most Chinese exported vehicles already feature the latest ADAS solutions, adding further competitive pressure on other OEMs to race for more content.
Strengthen Your ADAS Position Before Chinese Rivals Set the Standard
For OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, the ADAS race is no longer about differentiation; it is about parity. Chinese competitors are entering Western markets with vehicles already equipped with integrated, camera-rich, lidar-enabled systems.
Suppliers without a credible ADAS roadmap risk losing content. For dealers and F&I providers, the near-term implication is different but equally important: as SAE Level 3 capabilities become more common, vehicle complexity increases, and warranty and F&I product structures will need to adapt to cover integrated sensor systems.
Manufacturing Automation Has Moved from Vision to Implementation
Automation was the other key technology displayed this year. Several exhibitors demonstrated advanced solutions for manufacturing. These are increasingly compelling for relieving humans of the most difficult and repetitive tasks.
This could solve the problems of physical strain while enabling continuous improvement and cost reduction in manufacturing. The Hyundai booth offered the best demonstration with assistive devices for human operations, alleviating technical tasks using articulated exoskeletons with springs. Hyundai’s Boston Robotics subsidiary displayed the last 30 years of progress with its robots, from a single-cylinder ICE engine-powered unit to the latest autonomous electrified solutions used for quality control and maintenance operations.
AI use cases centered on efficient programming for automated solutions and self-learning to improve quality and assembly operations. Most robots featured cameras and lidar to ensure safety in environments where humans and machines interact.
Thanks to AI, interconnected systems appear more fluid and natural despite their increased complexity. As tariffs, trade negotiations, and reshoring reshape value chains in Europe and North America, automation is critical for cost management and rapid implementation and a path to accelerating Industry 5.0 adoption.
Build Your Deployment Plan — The Window for Preparation Is Closing
Automation is no longer a long-term technology aspiration; it is a near-term imperative for cost management and operational resilience. Reshoring pressures and tariff uncertainty make labor-intensive production increasingly difficult to sustain at competitive margins.
Companies without a clear automation strategy are already behind. The Hyundai example is instructive: the most compelling case was not a fully autonomous factory, but assistive technology that augments human workers. The path forward for most plants is augmentation, not replacement, and that distinction matters for workforce planning and capital allocation.
Two Priorities. One Clear Direction.
The automotive footprint at CES continues to shift from futuristic to applicable solutions. Only four OEMs attended: Great Wall, Geely, Afeela, and Hyundai, the last focused on manufacturing rather than vehicles. Since then, Afeela has terminated its vehicle program. Among Tier 1 suppliers, Schaeffler, Clarios, Valeo, Bosch, and Aumovio were notable presences.
The show remains the point where automotive professionals from across the global industry converge, and the direction they are pointing in 2026 is clear. Lidar-based integrated ADAS capabilities will become table stakes. Automation investment will accelerate. The companies that act on these signals now will be better positioned to compete.
Betrand Rakoto is Director and Global Automotive Practice Leader at Ducker Carlisle, with 25 years of experience in the automotive industry working with OEMs, Tier Suppliers, and market research consulting across materials, electrification, software/hardware, and mobility solutions.