Car manufacturers are racing to create the vehicle of the future with an ever-growing number of features designed to make driving easier, with GB News rounding up the best new features.
The UK has been at the forefront of vehicle innovation for a long time, with the Government keen to turn the country into a world-leading hub for manufacturing.
The Government has already kickstarted the self-driving vehicle trend with massive investment, as estimates show the sector could be worth £66billion per year by 2040.
While fully self-driving and autonomous vehicles are not yet ready for a mainstream rollout, GB News takes a look at the best vehicle technology available on the market.
The BMW E Ink technology in action
BMW
Colour changing car
At the start of last year, manufacturing giant BMW unveiled the BMW iX Flow, which featured the revolutionary E Ink technology.
This allows the body surface of the BMW to change colour thanks to electrophoretic technology, with a video from the brand showing how the vehicle can gradually change from white to black.
The E Ink future technology was first shown off at CES 2022, with Stella Clark, head of project for BMW, saying: “This gives the driver the freedom to express different facets of their personality or even their enjoyment of change outwardly, and to redefine this each time they sit into their car.
“Similar to fashion or the status ads on social media channels, the vehicle then becomes an expression of different moods and circumstances in daily life.”
BMW uses the RingGo parking software
BMW
Paying for parking
The parking industry is moving towards a cashless future with physical paper tickets slowly dying out, and now drivers can pay for parking without needing to leave their vehicle.
RingGo, one of the most popular cashless parking providers, has partnered with Android Auto to allow people to book their parking spaces through the car’s infotainment system.
Drivers can navigate between the RingGo parking app, navigation services, music, and messaging, with the brand trying to make the process as seamless as possible.
Skoda’s Pay to Park system also allows motorists to skip the parking machines and tickets, with the feature slowly being rolled out across Europe.
The Ford BlueCruise technology
FORD
Hands-free technology
Ford’s BlueCruise technology was given the green light in Great Britain in April, enabling drivers to take their hands off the wheel and trust the vehicle.
The brand became the first automaker to introduce “hands-off, eyes-on” software for pre-mapped motorways with a maximum speed of 80mph.
The system monitors road markings, speed limit signs and evolving traffic conditions to control steering, acceleration, braking and lane positioning, with the service being available to drivers of the Ford Mustang Mach-E.
Drivers of 193,000 BlueCruise-equipped Ford and Lincoln vehicles have already driven more than 64 million hands-free miles in Canada and the United States.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
The partnership between Hyundai and Amazon was renewed this year
HYUNDAI
Buying cars on Amazon
With Amazon already being the most popular online marketplace, it has added another notch to its belt by offering customers the chance to purchase cars.
From next year, auto dealers will be able to sell vehicles in Amazon’s United States store, with customers being able to get their hands on a Hyundai with the tap of a button.
Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon, said: “Our broad, strategic partnership should do just that, from changing the ease with which customers can buy vehicles online to making it simple to use Alexa in Hyundai vehicles for entertainment, shopping, smart home adjustments, and calendar checks.”
The entire Amazon ecosystem will be involved in the purchase, with Hyundai using Amazon Web Service (AWS) as its cloud provider for storage, databases and even generative artificial intelligence.