Photo: Mercedes-Benz
If you’re a member of the Generation Z (if you don’t know what that is, then you’re definitely not) and a fan of the automotive industry, then Tokyo is the place to be these days.
Every manufacturer present at the Tokyo Motor Show is tapping on the big city’s link with the forefront of technology breakthroughs and awkward social habits. They might use different words to describe these things, though.
The Mercedes-Benz Vision Tokyo makes no exception, targeting those youngsters born in the ‘90s who have grown up with everything that’s both great and horrible about new media. They are obsessed with technology and gadgets, and instead of pointing them towards a rehab facility, Mercedes-Benz offers them the Vision Tokyo - a vehicle that could be described as a very large smartphone you can climb into. With wheels.
It’s no secret the Vision Tokyo is an autonomous vehicle - if its exterior resemblance to the earlier F015 Luxury in Motion didn’t give it away, the opaque windows were a clear clue - and we should expect more of these from Mercedes-Benz, and every other manufacturer involved in this. But unlike its predecessor, the Tokyo Vision brings some new features on the table.
Generation Z’s expectations from a car are completely different from what we’re used to. They don’t care that much about how it drives - which makes sense since the thing drives itself - but what it can offer to its occupants while they’re making the journey.
The Mercedes-Benz Vision Tokyo sits well in this department, coming with Deep Machine Learning and an intelligent Predictive Engine that allow the car to learn about its occupants' preferences from one journey to another and adapt the next accordingly.
Access is gained through an up-swinging large door on the left-hand side (we’re in Japan, remember?) to reveal a very roomy machine with seats for five, but not in the usual arrangement us older Generations are used to. Instead, the Vision Tokyo uses an oval shaped couch to create a true lounge-like atmosphere for the members of the Generation Z to ignore completely as they are too absorbed by their smartphones.
It may not be driven by any breathing being, but the Vision Tokyo still has to draw some power from somewhere - at least to charge those smartphones, if not for any actual movement. It comes ready for a fuel cell-powered electric drive system that uses CFRP pressure tanks for safe storage of liquid hydrogen. It also has a high-voltage battery that can be charged wirelessly and offers a maximum range of 190 kilometers (118 miles). The overall range of the whole hybrid system, however, extends to 980 kilometers (609 miles).
So, to sum it all up, Mercedes-Benz brought a slightly taller and considerably uglier F015 Luxury in Motion to Tokyo, and the single real novelty is that it can learn the preferences of its occupants - even though that’s a pretty abstract notion at the moment, too. However, you can read the whole press release below if you want to see what Mercedes-Benz has to say in its defense.
The Mercedes-Benz Vision Tokyo makes no exception, targeting those youngsters born in the ‘90s who have grown up with everything that’s both great and horrible about new media. They are obsessed with technology and gadgets, and instead of pointing them towards a rehab facility, Mercedes-Benz offers them the Vision Tokyo - a vehicle that could be described as a very large smartphone you can climb into. With wheels.
It’s no secret the Vision Tokyo is an autonomous vehicle - if its exterior resemblance to the earlier F015 Luxury in Motion didn’t give it away, the opaque windows were a clear clue - and we should expect more of these from Mercedes-Benz, and every other manufacturer involved in this. But unlike its predecessor, the Tokyo Vision brings some new features on the table.
Generation Z’s expectations from a car are completely different from what we’re used to. They don’t care that much about how it drives - which makes sense since the thing drives itself - but what it can offer to its occupants while they’re making the journey.
The Mercedes-Benz Vision Tokyo sits well in this department, coming with Deep Machine Learning and an intelligent Predictive Engine that allow the car to learn about its occupants' preferences from one journey to another and adapt the next accordingly.
Access is gained through an up-swinging large door on the left-hand side (we’re in Japan, remember?) to reveal a very roomy machine with seats for five, but not in the usual arrangement us older Generations are used to. Instead, the Vision Tokyo uses an oval shaped couch to create a true lounge-like atmosphere for the members of the Generation Z to ignore completely as they are too absorbed by their smartphones.
It may not be driven by any breathing being, but the Vision Tokyo still has to draw some power from somewhere - at least to charge those smartphones, if not for any actual movement. It comes ready for a fuel cell-powered electric drive system that uses CFRP pressure tanks for safe storage of liquid hydrogen. It also has a high-voltage battery that can be charged wirelessly and offers a maximum range of 190 kilometers (118 miles). The overall range of the whole hybrid system, however, extends to 980 kilometers (609 miles).
So, to sum it all up, Mercedes-Benz brought a slightly taller and considerably uglier F015 Luxury in Motion to Tokyo, and the single real novelty is that it can learn the preferences of its occupants - even though that’s a pretty abstract notion at the moment, too. However, you can read the whole press release below if you want to see what Mercedes-Benz has to say in its defense.
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