MINI is a brand that stands for a number of things. While some will focus solely on its name and what it implies, the people in its board of management know there’s much more to it and we’re seeing the British brand adapt consequently. The world is moving at a faster pace than ever and that includes the automotive industry. MINI will have to adapt to the future and since it is a brand known for its abilities in urban mobility, the future seems bright.
City centers are getting more crowded by the day and along with it the traffic and congestion. Autonomous driving is seen by many as a solution to these issues as the tech could be used to get one person from point A to point B without implying a personal vehicle. Think of these cars more along the lines of simple means of getting to one point without having to drive them, pods moving on their own, if you will.
MINI seems like the right brand to provide such ‘pods’ in the future but what can we do to make sure they won’t all end up looking and feeling exactly the same? The MINI Head of Trim and Colors has a couple of ideas, Kerstin Schmeding sharing her thoughts about the future in a recent interview. Kerstin has been with MINI since September 2017 and has vast experience in the field.
“When I sit in a car, I want to experience something personal and individual. So the cars of the future will adapt to the individual. For example, shared MINIs will recognize the driver when they climb on board and adjust the light mood, fragrancing, and many other things accordingly,” she says. Furthermore, shared cars could have seats made of foam which can adapt to each driver, taking things to a whole new level.
Of course, such dreams are currently pretty far away but the reality is, we’re already making considerable strides towards them. For example, BMW is using 3D printed parts in its cars right now and MINI is doing the same, albeit only for trims. Even so, this proves that next-level tech is just around the corner and the future truly holds some rather interesting concepts for the automotive industry.
