Smart’s New Smart Vision EQ Concept Is An Autonomous Pod For Two

Smart revealed its new Vision EQ concept Fortwo ahead of its Frankfurt Motor Show public debut.

The tiny concept shows how Daimler envisions the future of urban mobility and the local public transport: a fully autonomous all-electric vehicle that’s always connected to provide its services when needed.

This is also the first Smart vehicle that falls under the EQ brand. Daimler is planning to launch more than ten electric vehicles by 2022, starting from a Smart model and ranging up to a large SUV.

“The smart vision EQ fortwo is our vision of future urban mobility; it is the most radical car sharing concept car of all: fully autonomous, with maximum communication capabilities, friendly, comprehensively personalisable and, of course, electric,” says smart CEO Annette Winkler.

The Smart Vision EQ Fortwo is built with car sharing in mind; inside there are no controls, with the vehicle’s functions being controlled by the user’s mobile device or voice input. Instead of a traditional dashboard, there is a 24-inch screen surrounded by a rose-gold frame while the outer edges feature two smaller 4-inch displays.

The exterior features a Black Panel grille which can be used as a means to communicate with other road users, displaying for example information for pedestrians crossing the road. The doors are coated with a film than can be activated on demand as well. Instead of traditional headlights and taillights, the Vision EQ Fortwo uses LED displays that can take an eye-like shape up front and portray useful information on the rear.

The electric powertrain is being fed by a 30kWh battery pack. When the car is not in use, it drives itself to a charging station for a fill up.