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The VW OnePod Imagines an Electric Autonomous Future in Which We’ll All Travel in Boxes

The automotive future is all-electric, fully autonomous, and bright. It will be modular, convenient, and highly efficient, but its appearance looks very... boxy and bland.
OnePod is Volkswagen's proposal for the future of urban mobility 17 photos
Photo: Volkswagen
OnePod is Volkswagen's proposal for the future of urban mobilityOnePod is Volkswagen's proposal for the future of urban mobility2020 Origin, the autonomous shuttle that goes "beyond the car"2020 Origin, the autonomous shuttle that goes "beyond the car"2020 Origin, the autonomous shuttle that goes "beyond the car"2020 Origin, the autonomous shuttle that goes "beyond the car"The Toyota e-Palette pod is an autonomous electric pod ideal for urban transportation and service fleetsThe Toyota e-Palette pod is an autonomous electric pod ideal for urban transportation and service fleetsThe Toyota e-Palette pod is an autonomous electric pod ideal for urban transportation and service fleetsThe Toyota e-Palette pod is an autonomous electric pod ideal for urban transportation and service fleetsThe Toyota e-Palette pod is an autonomous electric pod ideal for urban transportation and service fleetsThe Toyota e-Palette pod is an autonomous electric pod ideal for urban transportation and service fleetsThe Toyota e-Palette pod is an autonomous electric pod ideal for urban transportation and service fleetsThe Toyota e-Palette pod is an autonomous electric pod ideal for urban transportation and service fleetsThe Toyota e-Palette pod is an autonomous electric pod ideal for urban transportation and service fleetsThe Toyota e-Palette pod is an autonomous electric pod ideal for urban transportation and service fleets
Industry leaders are working their way toward Level 5 autonomy, but it will be years before they get there, and we’ll have self-driving cars on the road. In the meantime, there’s no harm in imagining how that not-too-distant future might look.

Concept cars are a good way of doing that. Most big marques have already introduced their proposals, and the common theme seems to be that, with the driver out of the picture altogether, the car will become a proper lounge on wheels. Robotaxis will be the future of urban mobility, and, as far as private ownership is concerned, cars will become the place where one disconnects from the busy routine of everyday life, a rolling office, an entertainment center, or even a hotel-like vehicle.

Given the electric drivetrain and the removal of all driving controls and equipment, there will be more space inside the cabin. With the desire to further maximize this space, the car of tomorrow becomes a box on wheels – a cute, slightly futuristic-looking box, but a box nonetheless. A pod, as carmakers are more likely to call it.

2020 Origin, the autonomous shuttle that goes "beyond the car"
Photo: Cruise
Volkswagen is the latest to join the bandwagon with its newly introduced OnePod concept.

Developed by the Volkswagen Group Future Center Europe in Potsdam for the DRIVE. OnePod is a concept study developed with the precise aim of showing how the switch to electric and reaching full autonomy will theoretically influence VW vehicles. The “One” in the name stands for “One Solution for all” since this would be a vehicle offered with a customizable layout that would render it suitable for anything from public transport (robotaxi) to private ownership or service fleets. The “Pod” is self-explanatory.

OnePod is a cute box that looks small but offers ample space inside. The model Go.City, part of the “Go.City – The Future of Urban Mobility” program, can seat up to six passengers and comes with a foldable bike rack in the rear to integrate a last-mile solution as well. The doors slide open, allowing easy access even to people with disabilities or people carrying luggage and strollers.

To that same end, the OnePod’s sensors immediately detect the height of the curb as it pulls over and the vehicle lowers the floor for step-less entry. In the case of robotaxis, access inside will be granted once the pod identifies the passenger (or passengers), and opens the door. A display in the door welcomes and informs the rider of every step in the process.

OnePod, like many other similar concepts out there, comes with expansive glazing and windows that double as screens. Large panels surround the vehicle, and another is in the roof so that passengers can choose between taking in the views as they travel or catching up on their favorite show. Controls for the riders are integrated into the adjustable armrests.

OnePod is Volkswagen's proposal for the future of urban mobility
Photo: Volkswagen
Communication with the outside world is through light strips front and rear, and a display in the front. Volkswagen notes that this system will “inform and warn other road users,” which, again, is not a novel idea and has been featured in similar concepts.

“Electromobility and autonomous driving give us more freedom in design, as the space in the interior is growing, among other things, and this offers completely new design options,” Peter Wouda, Head of the Volkswagen Group Future Center Europe explains. “With the OnePod we are following this development and are also giving children and older people in particular an additional and new option to get around the city individually, in an environmentally friendly and safe manner.”

Eco-friendly and safe are just two of the attributes that would describe OnePod, but original or particularly beautiful are not. If anything, this new concept confirms what many have been saying for months: with the driver out of the question, it seems like automakers are struggling to adjust, at least from a design perspective.

That said, if you’re in Berlin, Germany by December 31, 2021, you can see the OnePod at the DRIVE. “Go.City – The Future of Urban Mobility” exhibit.
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Editor's note: Photos in the gallery also show the Origin Cruise from GM and the Toyota e-Palette, for comparison.

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About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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