Carmakers invade CES 2011

Auto manufacturers have begun an invasion of the Consumer Electronics Show- a trend that will only grow in magnitude in future years, say motoring experts.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally showed off the Ford Focus EV during his keynote presentation and the all-electric vehicle will have an estimated driving range of 160 kms.

Audi unveiled the A1 e-tron plug-in hybrid and the A8 e-tron battery electric vehicle. Audi's Chief Executive Engineer Ricky Hudi said the performance-oriented A8 e-tron would have a top speed of 250 kilometers power.

Both vehicles will use lithium ion batteries manufactured by Sanyo and incorporate Tegra II graphics chips from NVidia to drive the displays for the vehicles as well as Google Earth maps to enhance the mapping used in its navigation system.

NVidia also is licensing the chips to Tesla Motors for the large 17-inch display that will span from the top of the steering wheel to the floor in its upcoming Model S, as well as to BMW for some of its petrol-powered cars.

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