Mercedes-Benz’s Smart brand reveals how it expects dedicated city cars, urban mobility solutions and car-sharing models to progress with the unveiling of the futuristically styled electric-powered Vision EQ Fortwo.
Set to make its public debut at the Frankfurt auto show next month, the self-driving 2-seater showcases the sort of mobility solutions and technology Chief Operating Officer Annette Winkler says will be a part of future city car models destined for Mercedes’ Car2Go car-sharing program by 2030.
“The Smart Vision EQ Fortwo is our vision of future urban mobility; fully autonomous, with maximum communication capabilities and electric,” Winkler says.
The centerpiece of the new concept is an advanced Level 5 autonomous-driving system. It is integrated with swarm intelligence in a move the sub-brand suggests will make its future models and associated car-sharing fleets even more convenient and efficient by better anticipating the predictability of demand at any given time.
“In the future car-sharing users will not have to look for the next available car – it will find them and collect passengers directly from their chosen location,” Winkler says.
Smart considers the development of its Car2Go car-sharing scheme through the adoption of autonomous-driving technology as a key component in its growth plans. Currently, a Smart model is hired every 1.4 seconds in cities around the world by one of the service’s 2.6 million registered users. It cites internal studies that predict the number of users of car-sharing schemes worldwide will increase fivefold by 2025 to more than 36.7 million.
Hinting at plans by Smart to take its lineup exclusively electric in the future under the aegis of Mercedes’ new EQ electric-car sub-brand – a move that’s expected to be announced at next year’s Geneva auto show, the Vision EQ Fortwo features a rear-mounted electric motor and 30-kWh lithium-ion battery conceived to offer it a range of “well over 300 km (186 miles).”
When not in use, Smart envisions the 2-seat city car to draw on its autonomous-driving ability to make its way independently to a charging station, where its battery can be charged inductively.
Conceived around a pod-like safety cell that provides clues to how Smart plans to advance the high-strength steel Tridion structure used by all its models since the company’s inception in 1998, the Vision EQ concept features a one-and-a-half box exterior design that is expected to influence the styling of the next generation of Smart models.
The overall appearance is more rounded than existing Smart models, with a heavily curved roofline, large wheel houses and ovoid doors among dominant design features.
In a continuation of the design of previous Fortwo models, the city car concept’s 18-in. wheels are set at each corner, providing it with the largest possible footprint in a move aimed at maximizing interior accommodation.
At 106.3 ins. (2,700 mm) in length, 67.7 ins. (1,720 mm) wide and 60.4 ins. (1,534 mm) tall, the new Smart concept car is the same length but 2.0 ins. (50.8 mm) wider and 1.0 in. (25.4 mm) lower than today’s third-generation Fortwo.
“The Vision EQ Fortwo is a radical approach,” says Mercedes chief designer Gorden Wagener. “It has the hallmark Smart proportions with accentuated wheel arches and no overhangs as well as the next level of communication and personalization.”
Key elements include a newly interpreted front end with a curvy headlamp design and a large trapezoidal grille, both featuring black panel displays Smart claims will allow future models to provide greater personalization and communication possibilities. A graphic within the headlamps mimics the blinking of an eye when passengers approach, while the grille can display messages to prospective car-sharing customers, for example.
Smart predicts future urban-mobility models will see cars summoned via smartphone and says the integration of black-panel technology, which also is used on the Mercedes EQ C electric car concept, will allow its future models to display information meant not only for its car-sharing customers but also for other road users.
The black-panel monitors are designed to indicate whether the car is occupied by one or two passengers. Those wanting to use the sharing function could contact other users via a saved profile and travel plans and then could be accepted or rejected by the prime customer.
As with today’s Fortwo, the new city-car concept receives a short but defined hood with the front-end structure used as a deformation zone for added frontal crash safety. The rear end receives a deep, 2-piece glass tailgate and high-set LED taillamps that are designed to carry either a conventional look or provide information on traffic jams or possible time delays for following traffic.
To ease entry in tight parking spaces and reduce the danger of collisions with cyclists, the two round, electrically operated doors pivot backwards parallel to the sides of the car over the rear wheels, revealing a large aperture through which to climb into the flat-floored cabin.
Inside, the self-driving Vision EQ Fortwo features a minimalistic cabin without a steering wheel, pedals or traditional controls. Functions are controlled via smartphone or voice. Occupants sit on a lounge-style seat featuring a retractable center armrest and offering space for two.
A wraparound windshield and glass doors that can change between clear and an opaque hue are conceived to provide all-around vision. Information sought by passengers is displayed on a wide 24-in. (61-cm) high-definition monitor mounted beneath the windshield. Smart says the doors also would be capable of displaying information, such as news topics, local events and the weather, turning it into a mobile billboard.
