The Consumer Electronics Show is the largest technology show on the planet, where exhibitors can see the latest technical trends and innovative products expected to be released on the market. As the auto industry continues to blend into the tech space, car manufacturers are making more frequent appearances at the tech show. Here are the top electric vehicles that were on display at CES 2020.
Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR
Mercedes-Benz unveiled the Vision AVTR, a futuristic concept vehicle inspired by Avatar, a 2009 blockbuster directed by James Cameron. The AVTR which stands for Advanced Vision Transportation was probably the most ridiculous yet most amazing vehicle on display at CES. It’s a concept car straight out of a fantasy movie and is not going into production anytime soon. It’s meant to showcase a lot of the technologies that Mercedes-Benz has been working on for the last few years. The car has spherical wheels that can move in different directions giving the AVTR the ability to move sideways and diagonally. The light patterns on the wheels were inspired by the glowing souls floating around Pandora in the Avatar movie. There are 33 bionic scales on the back of the vehicle that open and move up and down. These can potentially be used to communicate with other vehicles or pedestrians in the future. The AVTR also has glass doors which open up like wings, giving it the appearance of an amphibious creature, something straight out of Avatar.
The interior is just as shocking and wonderfully designed as the outside of the vehicle. There are no buttons or steering wheel, just a massive screen that comes up from the center console and stretches all the way to the windshield. On the center console, there’s a pad with a Mercedes logo on it, which the manufacturer calls a multi-functional control element. When a driver places their hand on this pad, the AVTR can recognize the person based on their heartbeat and breathing patterns, forming a biometric connection with the driver. The driver can use the multi-functional control pad to drive the AVTR and use gestures to communicate with it. All of which ties in with the concept of a mind-body connection and the vehicle and driver merging into one connected organism. The interior is built from recycled materials, the battery is compostable and the car will supposedly be carbon neutral. The AVTR is part of Mercedes-Benz plan of a more sustainable and eco-friendly future, a prevalent theme in Avatar. In fact, James Cameron himself was at CES 2020 to unveil the vehicle where he talked about sustainability and being in harmony with nature.
Lightyear One
One of the main problems with electric vehicles today is their range. Most EVs currently on the market can’t go more than a few hundred miles without needing to be charged. Meet the Lightyear One, a fully electric luxury vehicle created by a Dutch start-up, that harnesses the power of the sun to enhance its range. It has a small 60 KW Hour battery yet an impressive advertised range of about 450 miles. This is achieved thanks to solar cells that are located on the hood and the roof of the vehicle and stretch all the way to the rear bumper providing 5 cubic meters of area to harvest solar energy. In optimal sunny conditions you can get up to 20-30 miles of extra driving per day which is roughly around 10,000 miles per year. The vehicle can also be recharged using traditional charging stations. Lightyear says that you can expect about a 250 mile range from an overnight charge.
Though electric vehicles don’t emit emissions directly, they still rely on the grid to provide power. If the Lightyear One is able to generate power from the sun, it can theoretically be close to operating carbon neutral. You might have to charge the vehicle as little as once a month. The car is made from aluminum and carbon fiber making it lightweight and the solar cells allow the battery to be smaller, increasing the vehicle’s efficiency. Instead of having just one or two motors that indirectly drive the wheels, the Lightyear One will have a designated motor for each wheel, giving the driver even more control. The design is low and long to help the car better cut through the air and the undercarriage is smooth for better aerodynamics. However, the acceleration currently seems to be a bit poor. The vehicle can go from 0-60 miles in 8 or 9 seconds.
The Lightyear One is well built and looks great from the outside but there is room for improvement on the interior of the vehicle. The interior does not give off the premium feel expected of a luxury vehicle. Perhaps that is something the manufacturers will focus on when the car is closer to production. The Lightyear One is set to be released in Europe in 2021 and will start at the price of $135,000. Lightyear says they have already locked in 100 reservations and currently don’t plan to release the vehicle in North America anytime soon.
Hyundai S-A1 Air Taxi
Uber Elevate and Hyundai have partnered together to create an aerial taxi service. At CES 2020 they unveiled the S-A1 aerial mobility electric vehicle, a flying taxi that will save people time on long commutes. The S-A1 will transport up to 4 passengers and is capable of vertical take-off and landing. It has 8 rotors, 4 that are dedicated to the take-off and landing, and 4 more that adjust their tilt between two different modes. Once the vehicle takes flight, the tilting rotors tilt forward and convert to fixed wing aerial operation to increase efficiency. Its cruising speed will be around 150 mph with its top speed being approximately 200 mph. The S-A1 will fly at an elevation of 1000 to 2000 feet for a range of 60 miles. What’s most impressive is that the vehicle will apparently take about 7 minutes to recharge between trips. Being fully electric with multiple rotors means that the vehicle will be quieter and safer than a helicopter, making it a more efficient mode of aerial transportation. If one of the propellers fails, the others will pick up the slack. There will also be parachutes in the S-A1 for safety precautions. Aviation is a highly regulated industry so the manufacturers will have to work with the FAA to figure out how this new mode of transportation fits in with the current rules.
The S-A1 is one of the 3-part solution Hyundai is offering to cities, the other being the S-HUB landing station for the air taxi and the S-LINK autonomous pods that will transport passengers to and from the S-HUB. Implementing these solutions in conjunction will create a multi-modal, end-to-end product which will save time by having a quick flight within the trip. A partnership with Uber means that you will be able to book the S-A1 through their app, on a per seat basis. Through Uber’s growing network, the partnering companies hope to generate a massive demand and achieve pricing similar to Uber X levels within a couple of years after launch. With autonomy and mass production, the manufacturers are hoping to get to a level that is competitive with car ownership. This means that for long commutes, it will conceivably be cheaper to fly to your destination rather than driving there.
Uber is hoping to achieve a multimodal transportation experience with a seamless transition from ground transportation to air transportation back to ground transportation again. Hyundai says they want to democratize air travel. We’ve seen air taxi concepts before which have remained just that. Concepts. What’s interesting is that this is coming from a major automaker. Hyundai has the manufacturing power and with Uber’s expanding ride-sharing network, the two partners might just be able to pull it off. The service is projected to be available to customers in the Uber app in 2023.
Sony Electric Car
The biggest surprise at CES came from electronics manufacturer Sony, when they unveiled an electric car. Yes, Sony built a car, which they named the Vision S. The EV was designed to showcase Sony’s suite of technology which can be incorporated by auto manufacturers into their vehicles. Across the body of the Vision S there are 33 sensors and cameras which will work together to give the car’s computers the best representation of what is going on inside and around the vehicle. For example, with lidar and time of flight sensors, the vehicle can determine who is sitting in the car and adjust the seat and the music preferences from this information. The cameras and sensors will also be used for features such as autonomous driving, facial recognition and advanced driver assist which focuses on your eyes and how your arms are positioned. The side and rear-view mirrors have been replaced by cameras powered by Sony’s image processing technology. The EV is capable of Level 2 autonomous driving which means it can control acceleration, braking and steering but the driver must be fully aware in the vehicle. According to Sony, level 3 and 4 autonomous driving is still years away. This vehicle is also equipped with quad motors and a 200 KW Hour battery. Though Sony didn’t give much information on the range, the Vision S has a top speed of about 150 miles per hour and does 0 to 60 in 4.5 seconds.
Unlike other concept cars revealed at CES 2020, which are basically shells put together for a demo, the Vision S can be driven. The prototype is very well-built and the design is fantastic. The vehicle looks like a Porche-Tesla Model 3 hybrid. Sony had help from a company called Magna to develop parts of the car that Sony doesn’t manufacture, such as the tires and brakes. That’s how they were able to end up with a fully functioning car. The inside of the vehicle is even more impressive than the gorgeous exterior. The seats have a nice premium finish and the interior gives a luxurious feeling. At the front, there’s a panoramic display with a smooth UI for entertainment purposes and driver assist features. The display is broken into sections with different content, perhaps to prevent the driver from being distracted with whatever the passenger is watching. The vehicle seamlessly integrates with the cloud and continually updates it capabilities through always-on connectivity. Sony has also included compatibility with 360 Reality Audio which provides a spatial surround sound system. Each seat also has individual speakers to allow passengers to listen to their own music.
As exciting as the idea of a Sony car might be, the Vision S will not be put into production. It seems like Sony wanted to highlight their connectivity, entertainment and security technology and how they could add value for an existing electric car manufacturer.
Fisker Ocean
Fisker’s back at CES 2020 with it’s compact electric SUV, the Fisker Ocean. It’s called the Ocean because the manufacturer is using recycled nylon made from fishing nets and other materials recovered from the ocean for the vehicle interior. It’s a really well-designed SUV and the interior has a premium feel. The white seats look great, especially the design on the headrest. The patterns on the dashboard and the inside of the SUV doors also look amazing.
The SUV has an 80 KW Hour battery pack which Fisker says will be good for a 250 to 300 miles range per charge. The vehicle comes with eco-friendly features such as a solar-roof which will help with battery life when you’re parked in the sun. There’s also a California mode which opens the roof and rolls down all the windows for an open vehicle experience. According to the manufacturer, the EV has everything that is needed for autonomous driving in the future. The vehicle has middle range and a short-range radar at the front and 9 cameras. The company doesn’t want to take any risks at this time so they will not be developing their own self-driving features. Autonomous driving is going to be a very regulated space, where very reliable technology will be mandatory so that people feel safe using self-driving feature. Rather, Fisker wants to partner with other companies focusing primarily on autonomous driving.
The Fisker Ocean will have a starting price of $37,499 USD. After federal tax incentives, the cost of the vehicle becomes $29,999 which makes it a very attractive option and a competitor to entry level gas-powered SUVs. They also offer a flexible leasing model which will cost $379/month with $2,999 down. This includes all servicing and maintenance of the vehicle. What’s great with this leasing model is that there is no set term. The Fisker Ocean can be rented for just a few months and returned back to the manufacturer without any long-term contracts or early termination fees. Fisker is calling their SUV the world’s most sustainable vehicle. It’s a really clever marketing ploy but if Fisker can deliver an electric SUV at under $30,000 after tax incentives, it will shake up the auto industry. The vehicle will enter into production at the end of 2021 with volume deliveries taking place in 2022. You can pre-order it now by putting down $250 USD.