Ford CEO Alan Mulally speaks in Paris. He'll soon handle keynote duties at the CES show.
If Alan Mulally decides he’s had enough of the auto industry he could find a new career in high-tech.
The former Boeing chief, now Ford Motor Co. CEO, has been tapped for the third year in a row to serve as keynote speaker at the annual Consumer Electronics Show, which will be held in Las Vegas, next January.
That makes Mulally one of the few speakers ever to three-peat at the event, a short list that until now only included Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
Mulally will be joined, at CES, by Rupert Stadler, the CEO of Germany’s Audi AG, which recently emphasized its push into electric and electronic technologies with the eTron Spyder concept vehicle, which debuted at this month’s Paris Motor Show.
“This will be the most auto-centric show yet,” said CES President Gary Shapiro. The annual event is the largest convention held in Las Vegas and typically attracts more than 100,000 visitors.
The Audi eTron Spyder with CEO Rupert Stadler, who will also speak at the 2011 CES convention.
The trade group boss said CES has been impressed for Ford’s steady expansion of the use of technology in its “digital dashboard.”
Ford has had immense success boosting sales with the Sync voice-activated infotainment system. According to global marketing director Jim Farley, owners of competitive vehicles are four times more likely to buy a Ford vehicle if a salesperson demonstrates Sync while making a sales pitch.
Ford plans to quadruple its display space at the 2011 CES, the maker announced. And other automakers have been expanding their presence at a show that once focused on TVs and computers.
By some industry estimates, the most advanced of today’s vehicles have as much as $20,000 or more of their content invested in electronics – everything from safety systems like electronic stability control to onboard navigation and infotainment systems.
That is steadily growing as cars get smarter and consumers demand even more advanced ways to be entertained and stay in touch with the world. The upcoming update of Sync will allow a motorist to tap into select smartphone apps, such as the Pandora music service, using the car’s built-in voice control technology.
In all, 116 different automakers and suppliers plan to display vehicle technologies at the 2011 CES, including not only Ford and Audi, but Toyota, Hyundai, General Motors and its OnStar subsidiary.
Mulally isn’t the only Ford exec getting kudos from the high-tech world, incidentally. The maker’s global product development chief, Derrick Kuzak, will be speaking to the CTIA Wireless Association during that trade group’s convention, in San Francisco, later today.