The car companies coming to CES

BMW concept interior (BMW Group AG)

From BMW to Volkswagen, Las Vegas's annual January consumer technology showcase CES now attracts so many automakers that it's starting to compete with the Detroit Auto Show.

In fact, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has decided to give Detroit 2017 a miss altogether in favor of CES instead. What exactly it's planning to unveil is unclear, but there's a strong chance it will be a plug-in electric vehicle that's heavy on connected car technology.

BMW will be bringing the latest iteration of its interior of the future to the 2017 show. Dubbed the BMW HoloActive Touch system, it's described as a virtual floating touchscreen that responds to gestures and swipes and which provides tactile feedback to emulate the feeling of pressing a button.

Audi is using CES to switch on its first US-based vehicle to infrastructure communication system. It will enable owners of new Audis in Nevada to get live information no their dashboards about upcoming traffic lights, if they're red or green and how many seconds remain until they change color again.

"Applications and services like Traffic Light Information are essential components as we continue to move toward an autonomous future," said Audi of America President Scott Keogh.

Autonomous car technology firm Delphi will be hitting the roads around Las Vegas with demonstrator cars that offer best in class self-driving capabilities alongside a digital platform that can be integrated into potentially any manufacturer's car to make it autonomous out of the box.

Honda will be showcasing innovations in Artificial Intelligence that it claims create "new possibilities for human interaction and new value for customers." It will also be taking the wraps off a plug-in eclectic concept car, called the NeuV.

Toyota meanwhile has confirmed it's bringing a new concept car to CES that will highlight "the critical importance of UX [User Experience] in the development of highly automated vehicles and robots."

Volkswagen will use CES to examine the future of connectivity -- connecting people, vehicles and their surrounding environment -- and will be demonstrating something called Volkswagen User-ID.

"Our customers can already connect just about any smartphone with their vehicle -- but with the Volkswagen User-ID we're taking things a major step further," said Dr Volkmar Tanneberger, Head of Electrical and Electronic Development at Volkswagen. "The seamless integration of Partner Services combined with our own online services will create an entirely new user experience."

Continental wants to replace the traditional car key with biometrics. At CES it will be showing its latest in-car fingerprint and facial recognition systems that allow a car to learn who its users are and automatically configure the cabin and engine set-up for each driver.

After a year of teasing, Faraday Future will be taking the wraps off its first production car, an all-electric SUV that promises to rival a Tesla in terms of performance and usable range.

And eccentric Swiss design house Rinspeed will be demonstrating the Oasis concept, a CES show car that proves that autonomous vehicles can still be fun and have a personality. As well as space for two, the compact city car concept also boasts window boxes for growing radishes and bonsai trees and a heated rear drawer for transporting takeaway pizza.

The 2017 CES opens its doors to the world's tech and automotive media on January 3.