Cars need to be designed for cities, not the other way around

Microcars are the smaller, greener future of urban commuting, says IDTechEx’s Shazan Siddiqi

Shazan Siddiqi

Shazan Siddiqi

There is a need to scrap the “highway-centric” model of urban development and prioritize the ease and convenience of local trips. Most car trips are short trips carrying just one person. Most of the energy is wasted on carrying the vehicle’s own weight.

Oversized vehicles are the root cause of urban congestion, pollution, waste of energy, material, and public space. As cities everywhere move toward a high-density, low-speed, low-impact model, it calls for a new type of...