TURIN -- Designer Giorgetto Giugiaro will unveil an electric sedan concept developed with Chinese energy management company Envision at next month's Geneva auto show.
The concept has autonomous driving capability and was designed for users who are soon destined to be driven around by the car itself. "The technology would have allowed me to eliminate the steering wheel, but I couldn't bring myself to do it," Giugiaro told Automotive News Europe.
Giugiaro also said the sedan will offer "unique and innovative" solutions on ergonomics and ease of use, a theme he finds increasingly important as he approaches his 80th birthday in August.
The concept will be the second publicly disclosed project for the Giugiaros' new company, GFG Style, which stands for Giorgetto Fabrizio Giugiaro. Giorgetto and his son Fabrizio, severed ties with Volkswagen Group in 2015 after selling the remaining part of their Italdesign styling and engineering company to the VW Group's Audi division.
The sedan uses Shanghai-based Envision's energy management technology to connect the car to a broader energy ecosystem, using real-time computing and data analysis to control how, where and when devices produce, store and use energy.
The concept embeds the car into a larger energy system, across homes, communities and smart cities and signposts the potential for traditional car designers and manufacturers to fully engage in the wider energy ecosystem, Fabrizio Giugiaro said.
GFG Style's first public project was the 1,287-hp Ren electric supercar for the Chinese startup Techrules. It was unveiled at last year's Geneva show.
