Emmanuel GENTY
It’s an electric “robo-vehicle” that moves around the center of a smart connected city. It makes urban trips and the everyday life of this city’s users simpler. It’s a shared, multifunction mobility service. It’s Z35, Renault’s new concept-car, introduced at the Geneva Motor Show.
A small group of friends, just five people. As their evening out draws to a close, they decide to go home. Couldn’t be simpler: they use their smartphone to order a “robo-vehicle”, a driverless car specifically designed for shared urban travel. After a short wait, the vehicle arrives, lets them get on board and takes each of them to their destination: right to their door for some, or at a dedicated station in a district where they can find somewhere to go on partying. Just as it should be, in the heart of a city that’s become smart and ultra-connected.
This vision of city-center travel in the future can be applied to other people and situations: a business person going to a meeting, a group of tourists strolling from monument to monument, a mom and her baby going to the pediatrician, a couple travelling back from the airport, an elderly person going to see her daughter, etc. They all have one thing in common: they use Z35, the urban shared robo-vehicle and mobility service designed for all and introduced by Renault at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show.
The future of mobility for all
A few months ago, at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, Renault presented its vision for personal mobility in the future with the SYMBIOZ concept: a large and architecturally-inspired hatch that is like an extension of the home. Its design, inside and out, fits around its technology – electric, autonomous, connected – to help win back some time and enjoy a new life experience on board.
Z35 addresses the other side of mobility in the future: shared, on demand and driverless. It’s also an electric, connected vehicle, intended specifically for anyone’s urban uses and needs. Its characteristics make it easy to use, for a ride alone, with family or a group of friends, or shared with other users, during safe and enjoyable trips.
“Easy Life” on board Z35
Renault has been developing its “Easy Life” brand promise for 120 years, and never has it been seemed more real. For example, Z35 could be ordered through an application or through its dedicated stations; access is facilitated by the large front opening -no need to twist; baby strollers and wheelchairs for people with reduced mobility are welcome thanks to the platform that places Z35’s floor at sidewalk height; the seats are arranged as a U-shape for a more convivial setting; a large screen in front of the door displays trip information, etc. With Z35, passengers can spend their traveling time reading, working or sleeping inside a window open onto the city.
Safety is also a primordial value for the brand, and Z35, provides it for its passengers and for the city’s other users. Firstly because autonomous technologies lead to fewer accidents. Passengers benefit from the vehicle’s limited maximum speed, Renault’s 4-wheel steering technology and a remote supervision system capable of taking over control if necessary. People in the vicinity enjoy (and can keep tabs on an in-motion Z35.1) the AD light signature, the messages on the light strips and sound signal warnings.
All this while being fully part of the city and contributing positively to urban quality of life. With its innovative architecture echoing the city’s, Z35 is no eyesore of blocky transit that blocks views in and out. And, it’s a zero-emission vehicle, contributing to reduced pollution. Its dedicated pick-up points are designed in harmony with the city and integrated into urban life providing calm and greenery to the cityscape.
A robo-taxi service by 2022
Thinking about the future of in-town travel is not just an experiment for Groupe Renault. We plan to launch our ride-hailing robo-taxi commercial services by the end our Drive The Future 2017-2022 strategic plan, in cooperation with the Alliance. We will develop robo-vehicles which we will operate, enabling us to sell on-demand mobility services.