At CES 2020, Mercedes-Benz is giving an outlook on the sustainable mobility of the future with the Mercedes-Benz VISION AVTR.

The concept vehicle connects human, machine and nature in an unprecedented way. Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, presented the visionary concept vehicle in his keynote speech to around 2,000 spectators at the Park Theater of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) together with the Academy Award winning director and creator of AVATAR, James Cameron. The Vision AVTR is the result of a global partnership between Mercedes-Benz and the AVATAR films.

Ola Källenius in his keynote on Sustainable Modern Luxury and the Next Chapter:

“Mercedes-Benz has always been a technology and a luxury brand. And it is time to bring luxury and sustainability even closer together. Because for us, the two are no contradiction.”

People just love their individual freedom to instantly go where they choose when they want. That’s why our perspective is clear: we understand the boundaries of our planet. But we don’t want to add new boundaries to mobility.

Our approach is decoupling. Decoupling the Mercedes way, however, means that we’re decoupling volume growth from resource consumption. Our tools to achieve that are sustainable innovation and technology.”

The VISION AVTR concept vehicle uses a revolutionary battery technology developed with graphene-based organic cell chemistry that is completely free of rare earths and metals. The materials of the battery are compostable and therefore completely recyclable. In this way, electromobility becomes independent of fossil resources.

With the VISION AVTR, Mercedes-Benz takes a look at the mobility of the distant future, combining sustainability with digitalization as well as people and machines with the environment. The concept vehicle describes a desirable future of mobility in which man, nature and technology are no longer contradictions, but are in harmony with each other. The VISION AVTR shows the vision of a "zero impact car".

The holistic concept of the VISION AVTR combines the design disciplines interior, exterior and UX on an unprecedented scale. A design language inspired by nature characterizes the appearance of the concept vehicle. This is illustrated by the stretched, sporty "one-bow" design, which merges with spherically pronounced wheelhouses. 33 multi-directionally movable flaps – the "bionic flaps" – on the back of the vehicle enable a completely new interaction of the VISION AVTR with its surroundings.

Digital neurons, which flow from the interior of the concept vehicle when connected to the vehicle, enable a novel communication with the environment. A menu selection projected onto the palm of the hand allows the passenger to choose between different functionalities. For example, the driver can choose the option to explore the fictional film world Pandora from AVATAR from different perspectives.

Another highlight of the VISION AVTR is its control unit. The multifunctional control element in the centre console allows the driver to control the vehicle by simply placing his hand – as long as he does not want to travel autonomously. The new drive, in combination with the axis arrangement, not only allows movement forwards and backwards, but also diagonally. In contrast to conventional vehicles, the VISION AVTR can move sideways by about 30 degrees. The so-called "crab movement" also gives the concept vehicle a reptile-like appearance and a high agility in its movement.