In 2022, as we expected to return to a new post-pandemic normal, the War in Ukraine and the wider global economic instability resulted in a gloomy outlook for 2023. The same factors that are pushing us towards a recession, like the skyrocketing cost of energy, also have an upside as they show, here and now, the need to move away from fossil fuels as fast as possible and to rethink the way we live and we move around in our cities.
Car companies, with a few notable luxury exceptions, are embracing the inevitable electric future of mobility faster than ever, proposing more and more new concepts to envision their idea of electric mobility – and their relevance in tomorrow’s market.
In the meantime, city dwellers are actively looking for their own alternative mobility solutions, with e-bikes still going strong after their pandemic surge in sales.
Along with cars and two-wheelers, we’ll also take to the skies, with more and more electric flying vehicles proving their worth as transportation options for a sustainable future. You’ll find all this and more in our gallery of the 12 best mobility design news of 2022.
Best of car design, transportation and mobility 2022
As we leave the pandemic behind, the global instability and the energy crunch reiterated the need to iterate faster toward a sustainable and fossil-free future. With some exceptions.
To bring DeLorean in the future, the company’s designers and Italdesign explored a series of fictional, never-designed concepts hat imagine how the brand and its design would have evolved over the last four decades had the original DeLorean stayed in business. The unusual design process is so far more real and interesting than the car itself, whose delivery date is now set tentatively for 2024.
Manifesto is intended as a “lab for ideas”, says Dacia, and is connected to nature through the use of sustainable materials. The car packs a series of breakthroughs and innovations that the brand might decide to include in production models in the future. One example is the new YouClip, a new system to secure a series of modular accessories to the car.
The car sports a 4-wheel drive, a generous ride height, large wheels, and a sturdy and reliable body. Moreover, it’s completely waterproof–even the inside could be cleaned directly with a water jet.
While long-haul electric flights are still far in the future, the Alice maiden voyage shows that there could be an opportunity to employ smaller electric sustainable planes for short-distance regional charter flights in the near future.
It goes without saying that the temporary plan was an enormous success, to the point of heavily stressing the German rail network.
The 9€ ticket was a temporary initiative that ran from June to August, and it cost the State quite a lot in public money—around €2.5 billion.
Yet, it proved a (fairly self-evident) point: get down the price of sustainable transportation, and people will happily flock to it and leave the car at home.
Germany’s 16 federal States are now planning for a similar, long-term 49€ ticket that might launch in the second Quarter of 2023.
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- Andrea Nepori
- 20 December 2022
In October, Citroën unveiled its new “Oli” concept, a B-SUV-style car with strong boxy lines and as few frills as possible to keep prices low. The vehicle is an attempt at imagining the future of mobility by opposing the industry’s trend of “heavier and more complex” cars. According to Citroën, the future of EVs should be low-impact, affordable, and really aimed at everyone.
Wisk Aero, a flying taxi startup backed by Boeing and Kitty Hawk Corporation, among others, unveiled the 6th generation of its Wisk eVTOL. It’s entirely electric, has a range of 144Km (with reserves), and can be recharged completely in just 15 minutes. Thanks to its vertical take-off and landing capabilities, it can be employed for transporting people just by departing or arriving from regular helipads. The Wisk sits up to four people plus luggage, can fly up to 4000 feet in the air, and move with a top speed of 120knots.
Audi partnered with the Indian startup Nunam to create an electric rickshaw powered by old e-Tron batteries. Usually, Audi would regenerate the batteries with a very energy-intensive process. Using them on electric tuk-tuks would offer an alternative by repurposing them into less powerful vehicles with vastly lower performance requirements.
The new Angell S/Rapide is the second e-bike designed by Ora ïto for the French e-bike manufacturer Angell. The bike sports a lightweight goose-neck frame, a leather seat, and a smaller slanted crossbar. The company describes it as “one of the lightest e-bikes in the world”, with a total weight of just about 16kg. The two-wheeler also packs an integrated GPS and a customizable touch screen that can show battery life, pollution index, speed, and other information.
DeLorean Motors finally unveiled the design of the next DeLorean Alpha 5, and it’s a bold departure from the retro-look of the famous DMC-12.
To bring DeLorean in the future, the company’s designers and Italdesign explored a series of fictional, never-designed concepts hat imagine how the brand and its design would have evolved over the last four decades had the original DeLorean stayed in business. The unusual design process is so far more real and interesting than the car itself, whose delivery date is now set tentatively for 2024.
Back in April, VanMoof unveiled its new S5 and A5 e-bikes. The A5 is the company's first model with a step-in frame, making the two-wheeler more accessible to a broader audience. The S5 follows the VanMoof tradition with a slightly updated version of the company's iconic frame design. Despite the similarities with the S3 model, the new e-bike has been completely reengineered. Both models come with an ultra-silent and powerful Gen 5 motor, a long-range battery, a power boost mode, and the usual VanMoof anti-theft technology.
Volkswagen unveiled the electric evolution of its iconic transporter Van, widely known as the Bulli, Kombi, or simply DW Bus. The company says that the ID. Buzz is transferring "seven decades of Bulli know-how into the era of software and digitalization." That entails a "Plug & Charge" technology, enabling the ID. Buzz to be charged easily with up to 170KW and bi-directional vehicle-to-home charging, which lets customers integrate the car into the home energy system.
After updating its brand image, the Romanian carmaker Dacia unveiled a new concept for an off-roader that won’t get to production, but will serve as an inspiration for the company’s new vision.
Manifesto is intended as a “lab for ideas”, says Dacia, and is connected to nature through the use of sustainable materials. The car packs a series of breakthroughs and innovations that the brand might decide to include in production models in the future. One example is the new YouClip, a new system to secure a series of modular accessories to the car.
The car sports a 4-wheel drive, a generous ride height, large wheels, and a sturdy and reliable body. Moreover, it’s completely waterproof–even the inside could be cleaned directly with a water jet.
Hyundai showed a real-life prototype for a 671HP racecar fitted with a fuel cell that powers two electric real-wheel engines, propelled by hydrogen and inspired by the 1974 Pony Coupe designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro. The N Vision 74 is the latest in a successful series of retrofuturistic designs by the South-Korean carmaker.
In September, the world’s first all-electric passenger plane took its maiden flight. The inaugural flight of the Eviation Aircraft’s Alice plane lasted only eight minutes. The EV plane took off in Washington state, and reached a maximum altitude of 3,500 feet. Eviation Aircraft company is aiming for a max range of 150 to 250 miles with a maximum load of 2,600 pounds, meaning it could carry two pilots and up to nine passengers.
While long-haul electric flights are still far in the future, the Alice maiden voyage shows that there could be an opportunity to employ smaller electric sustainable planes for short-distance regional charter flights in the near future.
A model you wouldn’t expect. The house of the Prancing Horse follows the trend of many other high-end car manufacturers by introducing Ferrari Purosangue the first 4-door car in the brand's history. The car starts at €390.000, and 2000 units have already been pre-ordered. The first deliveries are expected in the first half of 2023.
One of the most successful (and expensive) mobility initiatives of the year has certainly been the German 9€ ticket. The idea was simple: 9€ per month for a subscription ticket that would let you ride on any German’s city local public transport, plus on all of the country’s long-distance Regional train.
It goes without saying that the temporary plan was an enormous success, to the point of heavily stressing the German rail network.
The 9€ ticket was a temporary initiative that ran from June to August, and it cost the State quite a lot in public money—around €2.5 billion.
Yet, it proved a (fairly self-evident) point: get down the price of sustainable transportation, and people will happily flock to it and leave the car at home.
Germany’s 16 federal States are now planning for a similar, long-term 49€ ticket that might launch in the second Quarter of 2023.