Future View: Mercedes Predicts London, Los Angeles, Shenzhen in 2040

Mercedes has revealed its startling vision of how the future might look for three of the world’s major cities, with automobiles still having a key role to play in each.

Calling on the expertise of sociologists, philosophers, scientists, artists, futurists and architects, the German automaker has painted a dramatic picture of how a smart city might evolve in London, Los Angeles and Shenzhen, three very different urban centers of global renown, from 2040 onwards.

The gaze into the future aims to show how climate change and digitalization could fundamentally alter cities as we know them and how Mercedes could evolve with that change. 

Intriguingly, the Mercedes future vision of the capital of the United Kingdom, London, sees a “combination of progressiveness with history and tradition.” However, given that London regularly tops surveys as the slowest city in the world for traffic, it is no surprise to see that a reduced role for cars is envisaged.

Credit: Mercedes

Autonomous vehicles (AV) would be more prevalent, with self-driving taxis much more common, and electric vans, some autonomous, and cargo bikes the preferred option for last-mile deliveries. 

Because of the cramped nature of London, the streets have to be shared by all traffic, with only cyclists getting their own lanes, and a limited number of designated stopping areas for delivery AVs, which are served by curbside bots to take goods to front doors.

Related:Vehicle-to-Everything Communication Gets New Roadmap

A fully digitalized infrastructure keeps traffic flowing and provides signage, while to discourage car use and prevent congestion, parking is only allowed in multi-story garages with excessively high charges.

Mercedes predicts a different path for the sprawl of Los Angeles, where lack of space is not an issue and journey distances are inevitably longer. Individual cars, therefore, are much more of a priority, and the wider roads in general mean there is more capacity for individual lanes tailored to autonomous vehicles and self-driving taxis (which are already in operation in Los Angeles).

Roadside inductive charging areas for EVs are also possible, and it is expected some vehicles may have solar coating to generate their own electricity.

It is hoped that digitalization of infrastructure could reduce traffic complexity and distribute parking space more intelligently, while, as in London, autonomous vans and bots would handle logistics. However, in Los Angeles, more scope is expected to provide parking facilities for AVs.

Drones are also anticipated to have a role to play in deliveries and also as firefighting weapons protecting the city.

Related:Waymo Self-Driving Taxis Now Open to Anyone in Los Angeles

It is the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen that presents the most eye-opening opportunities. 

Already boasting a comprehensive 5G network, it is more advanced than either London or Los Angeles in digital transformation, and Mercedes sees AI and connectivity being far more prominent there in terms of managing traffic.

The density of the buildings in Shenzhen is likely to mean traffic flow can be arranged vertically on different levels, with AVs getting their own separate convoy lanes, networked via an integrated “vehicle road cloud.” 

Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology would be standard, with logistics handled by drones and bots, and VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft transporting goods and people to neighboring cities.

Meanwhile, those residents who stay in Shenzhen rather than travel would find they could be catered for by restaurants where the cooking and service are provided exclusively by robots.

How much of this all materializes is hard to predict. 

But Mercedes aims to be prepared regardless of what the future delivers, as chief technology officer Markus Schäfer explained. “Progress means developing innovative technologies in dialogue with society. It’s how we maintain our innovative power and create a new kind of automotive experience.”