Israeli invention transforms parking, traffic issues with foldable car

If you are a resident of a crowdToday, people living in the city ed city, finding a parking spot see it more as a burden,” said near your destination is always Dr. Asaf Formoza, CEO of City difficult. City Transformer Transformer. (CT), a small high-technology The car will soon be availcompany located in central able for pre-order and the comIsrael, is devoted to solving the pany has the ambitious goal problem. of seeing 1 million models on

It has invented a foldable the streets by 2025. Now in the chassis that incorporates all of prototype stage, Formoza said a car’s components. Four of the car is planned to be electric their vehicles fit into one parkand fully autonomous. ing space of traditional size. Israel, which is considered The folding mechanism has to be a world leader in innovagot a patent. tion, is probably the right place

At the company’s office in for him and his partners to Netanya, central Israel, peoplestay. from CT are tweaking the deFormoza said the Tel Aviv sign of what they believe is the municipality has agreed to take transportation of the future. part in a pilot in the coming

“When I was a child, the year that will see as many as car was a symbol of freedom. 50 CT vehicles driving on the streets of Israel’s leading hightechnology hub.

At the touch of a button, the car shrinks by 50 centimeters, making it compact and perfect for parking in small crowded areas, according to CT.

The car platform is flexible and can be used for several purposes, from taking passengers to delivering goods. The final model is expected to have a joy-stick rather than a steering wheel.

“Everything that makes the car a car is down below in the lower part, including the suspension, all the engines and all the electronics,” said Eyal Cremer, the chief design officer at CT. “It means we are completely flexible in what we put on top. We can put a box for cargo, put something that is special for mail delivery, or a sporting car.”

CT plans to sell the cars to leasing companies at first. Once the cars become available to end users, they will sell at an estimated price of $10,000

without the batteries, which will be rented out.

Using its battery, the vehicle will be able to drive nearly 200 kilometers at a time.

Formoza said the car is safe, although crash tests have not been conducted. The car will be fitted with air bags and seat belts.

The potential is not only for freeing up parking spots, but also in the possibility to reduce traffic, said Formoza. Driving at a lower speed searching for parking makes traffic slower in many cities.

While Israel is not a world leader in the automobile industry, it is home to some leading innovations in the autonomous vehicle sector.

“Our goal is to make something that is usable, a utility, but doesn’t look and feel like a utility,” he told Xinhua. “We’re working very hard to make it cool. It’s not a car, it’s more of a product for life.”