Vehicle Design Summit aims to create a 4-passenger, 200 MPGe, high-performance industry-standard car with minimal life cycle costs and wide appeal both in developed and developing countries.
The Future of Sustainable Transportation Takes Shape at MIT
Cambridge, MA – The best and brightest minds in transportation technology assembled at MIT this week for the second iteration of the Vehicle Design Summit. This summit aims to catalyze innovation in vehicle efficiency, performance, and accessibility across developed and developing nations alike.
Dubbed “The Model T of the 21st Century” by organizers, the vehicle under design targets a 200 MPGe fuel efficiency – drastically higher than any production vehicles today. Yet its four seat configuration and high performance profile distances this initiative from stereotypical electric commuter cars.
“We want to prove desirable and sustainable vehicles are not mutually exclusive,” said Dr. Michelle Banks, Head of MIT’s Vehicle Design Lab. “Everyone deserves access to safe, clean, exhilarating transportation.”
Indeed, the vehicle under design intends to balance advanced perception algorithms for eventual autonomous capabilities with affordability and manufacturability.
To realize this vision, the summit convened transportation leaders from public, private, and non-profit sectors across 30 countries. Collaboration and idea sharing took center stage.
“Pushing boundaries requires outside-the-box thinking and cooperation across disciplines,” noted sociologist Dr. Neil Greenberg in his keynote speech on equitable mobility.
With electrification and automation trends accelerating, many called this vehicle a harbinger of broader disruption to come. If successful, the initiative may provide a blueprint for highly efficient, high performance, affordable and sustainable mobility worldwide.