Mobility experts have been calling for smaller, electric vehicles for years now, with affordable price-tags and enough electric reach, to cover the typical daily distance driven by commuters - a mere 30 to 40 kilometres. In Germany they even created a new category – the so-called minimobility group, containing a number of compact electric vehicles called L6e and L7e.
Both of these vehicle categories show a number of promising trends that could fundamentally change the way we get around in urban areas. Stunning fact: The solution for traffic congestion in our cities lies in the hands of mobility entrepreneurs that weren’t shy of taking the risk and getting these hands dirty while designing and launching L6e and L7e vehicles. In this article, I’d like to highlight a few updates from the City Transformer Team. I first saw their prototype at the IAA Mobility in 2021 and we’ll be seeing their latest version of their vehicle at the upcoming IAA Mobility in Munich in September.
City Transformer wins Gold Medal at the German Design Council
The City Transformer recently was announced Winner of the German Design Council 2023 GOLD MEDAL. At the Award ceremony in Frankfurt the production prototype of City Transformer received the accolades for its excellence and outstanding design in the category of passenger vehicle. The German Design Award jury described the CT-1 as: “a role model for sustainability” and “the perfect solution in urban traffic.” They also praised its compact size, its extraordinary ability to expand the width of its axles, its pleasantly spacious cockpit and its state-of-the-art technical functions.
This week, the City Transformer Team revealed a new partnership with BOSCH software: „We’ve taken the first step toward the next generation of in-car connectivity … which resulted in a connectivity solution that will enable City Transformer to provide 'ready-to-share' vehicles straight from production.“ The City Transformer aims to bring an urban vehicle to our streets, which is able to change its width while driving, expanding when accelerating, and shrinking when parking or in traffic jams.
What a great week for City Transformer in Italy!
The real life test on Milan’s and Turin's streets last week proved to be a big surprise for residents who were astonished to see City Transformer vehicles driving through their busy cities. Italians love their FIAT 500 vehicles and its electric version is a bestseller in Europe now. So the locals have been used to seeing tiny cars here in the North of Italy, but for the first time, they encountered a car that changes width while driving.
Due to the small width of the vehicles, one can drive through traffic jams like on a motorbike and is thus more flexible and faster in the cities. Parking itself becomes a pleasure, usually three of these mini-mobiles fit into the parking space of a conventional car. The company’s launch of the CT-Connect functionalities showed its path towards an efficient and better future of urban mobility. The Israeli-German mobility startup signed up with the Italian car manufacturer CECOMP to begin pre-production engineering in order to prepare for full serial production, which will begin in early 2025. The launch plan is further safeguarded by an international investment of more than $20m, plus strategic partnerships with Bosch and SEGULA.
Images courtesy of City Transformer.
