Micro Mobility / Travel in Cities, Spain

SEAT e-Mii electric car sharing in Barcelona, Spain by Metropolis:Lab Barcelona

SEAT eMii Metropolis Lab Barcelona electric car sharing JoyDellaVita

The SEAT e-Mii electric car was unveiled during Mobile World Congress 2017 in Barcelona, this past week. As the concept car will find its use in Barcelona only, so far, the automaker consciously decided to present it in their hometown, instead of at any (international) Auto Show. The e-Mii is the first electric car by SEAT, years after the almost identical ‘sister model’ Volkswagen e-up! was launched. But nowadays electric Mii is far from the innovation standard when the e-up! was introduced in 2013. SEAT wants to become the number one brand among the Volkswagen Group Brands (Volkswagen, Skoda, Audi,…) in terms of connectivity and also mobility solutions, and the e-Mii will be a first testing vehicle.

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What is Metropolis:Lab Barcelona?

As Part of the Volkswagen Initiative Metropolis:Lab the Metropolis:Lab Barcelona will open in April 2017. After established studios in Los Angeles/Palo Alto, Munich, two in Wolfsburg and one in Berlin there will be now another one in the hometown of SEAT, located in Pier 01. As a special service, also to gain lots of information and experience and new input, SEAT will establish a car sharing for “Barcelona Tech City”, housed in Pier 01 at the Harbour of Barcelona. Around 1000 people, all working at and for Pier 01, will have the possibility to rent one of the 10 electric vehicles. The car sharing will only be available via a special App and people will not only be able to book the Cars but also unlock and lock the doors with it and much more. The ‘much more‘ will be tested in the upcoming months, up from this summer.
Another part of the tasks of Metropolis:Lab Barcelona is to analyse traffic in Barcelona and invent systems to actually reduce traffic. One solution will be ‘predictive navigation’. We all already know real-time navigation by Google Maps, offering real-time information on Traffic. But SEAT wants to step ahead, and already know when heavy traffic will occur, before it’s already there. By analysing daily traffic, and how if differs if it’s sunny or rainy for example, and many other factors. If you’ve already driven in Barcelona during rush-hour you will most likely thank them a lot if they find a proper solution, and make everyone’s life easier and less stressful.

Electric Car SEAT e-Mii

The all-electric car SEAT e-Mii is powered by a 61 kW / 82 hp electric engine and it can drive up to 130 km/h. They said the batteries will be charged again within 30 minutes by fast-charging. More details aren’t public yet, but the car will anyways not be available for the public. The “digital access” is a special feature of the small electric vehicle. Without a key or card, the vehicle can be unlocked or locked with your own personal mobile phone. In addition, a car can be reserved via the App, including information on the current battery status and more. However, further innovations and technologies will be tested and developed, to follow in future SEAT models. The “car of the near future” will tell us soon which car parks still have availabilities, and also immediately recognise us at the drive-in, and charge us at the exit immediately from our credit card. Seamless and time-saving. Route planning is calculated not only in real-time but also predictably. On the basis of hundreds of vehicles that have already travelled a certain road, you will be informed of any bugs or other hazards. Cars will soon be smart and have access to millions of anonymous public data and information.

An all-electric car, for the public, will be introduced by SEAT in 2019. So far, it won’t be the SEAT e-Mii but will feature a lot of its features, and even more. I’m excited and am looking forward to an electric future of transportation in cities!