Trunk Car, the Little EV That Could, Is Both Smart Suitcase and Personal Mobility Solution

Trunk Car is one such solution. While neither car nor the trunk of one, it is a “trunk” in the older sense of the word: a piece of luggage, but one brought into the modern world by means of an electric motor. Trunk Car is also, for the time being at least, just a concept, but you know how these things go: given industry recognition and enough interest from the public, it might just get a shot at becoming real.

That said, as of the time of press, Trunk Car exists as a hypothetical but feasible proposal for a potential future. It would address two far-from-serious problems, helping to enhance the quality of life by offering a very convenient option for a carry-on and a short-distance personal mobility device. In a world in which we’re bombarded with so many options that choosing becomes too stressful, this product doesn’t force you to choose, by adopting the 2-in-1 form factor.

Designed by Li Lanping from The 36th Research Institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, China, in partnership with Shenzhen C60Design, the Trunk Car is a piece of motorized smart luggage with an integrated, hidden hoverboard with a handlebar. Depending on your particular needs at a particular moment, you can use it either to carry your stuff in, or yourself.

Trunk Car is the winner of the 2022 Red Dot Design Concept, which confirms its hypothetical appeal. The brief notes that it comes with two independent modes: power assist when it’s used as a suitcase, and riding mode when it’s used for personal mobility.

In the former, you use it as you would any other piece of luggage, but without having to actually break a sweat by pulling or pushing all that weight. When “road conditions are less than ideal” or you’re simply too lazy, you can activate the power assist, and Trunk Car will detect your speed and provide assistance in accordance to it. In other words, you’ll still be holding on to it, but much of its movement will be done by motor.

This is also the main thing that differentiates Trunk Car from other suggestions for smart suitcases. We’ve seen countless of them in recent years, some more convincing than others, and the majority of them relied on sensors that made their movement independent of you. It’s precisely this that dampened the odds for those smart suitcases: sometimes, people just want a piece of luggage that’s easier to haul to and from the gate, and not some kind of motorized, suitcase-shaped dog that will follow them around the airport and then get damaged when thrown into the plane.

Put it simply, those smart suitcases followed you around; the Trunk Car is still your luggage and you still have to keep hold of it, but it’ll be easier to operate.

The second mode sees Trunk Car serve as a personal mobility device. This is done by detaching the hard-shell case to uncover a hidden hoverboard that you can hop on and be off. This would probably come in handy as a last-mile solution or on short rides on the campus, and it might appeal to the consumers in these respective markets.

“Trunk Car’s simple and fashionable design complements healthy and greener travel and living,” the designers wrote of the project. Since it was presented as a concept, specifics were probably not mandatory, so we’re getting none. All we’re getting is a couple of photos showing a truly “simple and fashionable design,” with a sturdy-looking hard-shell and equally sturdy-looking handlebar for the hoverboard.

All in all, this is one concept that we’d like to see further developed.