Everything from a built-in robot vacuum to headlights that project messages.
If you needed a reason to be excited for the EV future, Beijing Auto Show should give you quite a few. The trade show has been an exciting stage for automakers across the world who are bringing their expo A-game and showing off electric cars that are weird, practical, or somewhere in between — think removable seats or a suspension system that can recharge your EV battery.
While some of the auto show’s most exciting concepts come from bonafide auto giants, others are coming from brands that you might want to put on your radar. These are the eight Beijing Auto Show innovations that have us most excited.
8. Exterior Displays
Glanceable info from the outside is a real time saver.
Sure, screens are becoming increasingly commonplace (and bigger) across cars in general, but screens on the outside of the car? Now that’s new. If you’re like me and have spent too much time backtracking to your car just to make sure it was locked, the Smart Concept #5’s exterior screens should be a welcome feature.
The displays provide visual confirmation on the front fender next to the EV’s doors and another LCD screen on the wheel arch shows your tire’s pressure.
7. Facial Recognition Unlock
It feels a little creepy for your car to scan your face, but you can’t argue with the convenience.
Locking your car manually or with a fob is so passé. Like your smartphone or even laptop, the DongFeng eπ 007 can unlock itself using facial recognition. It’s a simple upgrade, but it’s an extra layer of security in a way that most of us are already used to thanks to the iPhone and Face ID.
6. Headlights That Project Messages
Instead of gesturing for people to cross, you can tell them instead with your headlights.
Sometimes a wave of your hand to the pedestrians in front of your car doesn’t exactly get your message across. To avoid any miscommunications, Yuanhang’s Y7 has headlights that can project messages in front of it. This way, you can quickly figure out who’s yielding right of way with actual words.
5. Rear Lights That Can Communicate
These warning lights could be the difference between a rear-end accident happening or not.
Instead of looking ahead, Audi was focused on helping you get a message across to the cars behind you. With its digital OLED taillights, the Q6L e-tron now gets a communication light that will display warning symbols for when you come across traffic or an accident while driving. Let’s just hope owners use this for the right reasons.
4. Regenerative Suspension
The Yangwang U7’s range could go further than you think.
From BYD’s luxury Yangwang sub-brand, the U7 will be its first EV to use the brand-new DiSus-Z suspension system. Not only does the high-tech suspension offer a much smoother ride since it doesn’t rely on hydraulic shock absorbers, but it can even offer back some charge for the EV’s battery, similar to how regenerative braking works.
3. Built-In Induction Cooker
Keep the tea and snacks flowing on those long road trips.
We’ve noticed a lot more automakers trying to make their EV cabins feel like lounges. To expand on that idea, Buick’s Electra L concept adds an integrated tea table and induction cooker to the rear seats. And if you want to get rid of the lingering smells, there’s even a fragrance dispenser.
2. Robot Vacuum
Everybody loves a robot with a job, right?
If we’re treating our EV cabins more like living rooms now, there’s surely going to be more demand to keep them clean. Volkswagen already has the bases covered with Lupo, a built-in robot vacuum that keeps the floor mats of its ID. Code 01 concept crumb-free. Like the Roomba, it can stow itself away inside the cabin to recharge once done.
1. A Breakout Rear Seat
Geely may have taken outside-the-box thinking too literally.
Never mind the obnoxious combo of suicide and gullwing doors, the wildest part of Geely’s Galaxy Starship concept is the completely detachable rear seat that acts as its own form of last-mile transport. If parking is a nightmare at your destination, you can park a few blocks further away, hop in your detachable motorized seat, and pull up to brunch with your friends in the equivalent of a supervillain throne.
