The old chestnut passed around by industry watchers for the past decade was that CES one of the worlds largest consumer tech trade events had turned into an auto show. Maybe even the most important auto show of the year.And there was ample evidence of that. GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra used the CES stage in 2016 to introduce the world to the all-electric Chevrolet Bolt. In 2022, Barra made another big splash at CES when she declared that General Motors would sell personal autonomous vehicles by the middle of the decade.Meanwhile, Ram and Chrysler two American brands owned by Stellantis have used CES to show off future EVs, including the Ram 1500 BEV in 2023.Ford has been perhaps the most visible CES exhibitor at least on the automotive front. The U.S. automaker has used CES for a bevy of tech-related announcements since at least 2011, including its Smart Mobility Plan in 2015, self-driving car ambitions in 2016, future EV lineup in 2017, and its City of Tomorrow vision in 2018 that included building a cloud platform with Autonomic for smart cities.This year, not one American automaker can be found, unless you count VW Groups U.S. spinoff Scout Motors. Several Chinese automakers filled that void, notably Zeekr, the EV brand owned by Chinas Geely Holdings. Wey, a premium brand under Great Wall Motor, and Xpeng also had booths.Their absence could be attributed to the normal product cycle, which in automotive is longer than other consumer electronics, Brian Moody, senior editor for Kelley Blue Book, told TechCrunch. Its cyclical, thats the boring answer, he said in a recent interview. Automaker product cycles are much longer than consumer product cycles. Building a car in the real world takes longer.He also said automakers are starting to rethink their presence at shows like CES. If youre not generating tens of millions of impressions to consumers, whats the ROI? he mused, adding that media fragmentation has contributed to this concern.Ford spokesperson Alan Hall told TechCrunch that while the company doesnt have an activation (display or news announcements) this year, CES remains an important show for scouting of new technologies and trends in consumer electronics so we will have a presence with a number of our engineering, design, supply chain, and product planning team members there.Some Ford employees, for instance, participated in panel discussions, such as at the Connect2Car conference.GM had a small presence through a few partners, but no speaking engagements or booth, a spokesperson confirmed, noting that with all tradeshows, the company evaluates year-over-year and adjusts based on various business factors and priorities.Regardless, walking the floor of West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center where virtually all vehicle tech can be found the lack of U.S. automakers was notable. The elaborate booths showcasing EVs or in-car software from U.S. companies were nowhere to be found.Several Chinese automakers filled that void, notably Zeekr, the EV brand owned by Chinas Geely Holdings.And it extended to other automakers like Mercedes-Benz that have traditionally had large exhibits at CES.Mercedes made the decision to skip CES after careful consideration and evaluation of our strategic direction for the upcoming year, spokesperson Patrick Kuom told TechCrunch, adding that the company has a presence at the booth of partner Xperi.There were a couple of automakers there such as Honda, which showcased its two vehicles in its upcoming 0 Series as well as its underlying Asimo operating system, and BMW, which revealed more about its new in-car user interface. Toyota also made a splash with its press conference announcing it had completed the first phase of its living laboratory Woven City and that it was exploring and investing in orbital rockets.But the main theme was automated driving and software and the legacy automakers didnt have much to show on that front. Instead, companies working on automated driving or the sensors that support it and software took up the bulk of the floor. AV giants Zoox and Waymo had exhibits (along with Zoox robotaxi rides for media) alongside others like May Mobility and Japanese company Tier IV.Software and sensor companies also abounded including Aeva, Applied Intuition, and Sonatus to name just a few.