摺疊式電動汽車問世
2009年開始，美國麻省理工學院媒體實驗室（Media Lab）和新能源協會（Denokinn）、巴斯克創新中心等事業夥伴，在電動汽車上市前，一同合作改良電動汽車的設計和修改相關技術。
這款兩人座迷你汽車命名為Branded Hiriko，是巴斯克語「城市」的意思。Branded Hiriko長2公尺、重450公斤。當四個輪子往內縮、駕駛倉向上摺疊時，車身底盤便因此縮小，所以可以減小停車空間。
1個標準規格的車位可容納3台電動摺疊汽車，可有效解決擁擠都市中擾人的停車問題。
汽車由2顆鋰電池供電，其蓄電量可供行駛120公里長的距離，最高時速，會由自動電子調控到符合當地的時速限制。
許多城市對這項新發明興趣濃厚，像巴賽隆那、柏林、香港、舊金山、瑞典的莫馬市、厄瓜多爾共和國的基多市和加拉巴哥群島，以及巴思克地區的第二大城維多利亞。
各個城市及市民可以用大約12.500歐元的價格(相當於16,600美元)購買此款電動摺疊汽車。
這款電動車是由已故教授威簾米切爾（William J. Mitchell's, 1944-2010）所帶領的智慧城市研究團隊（Smart Cities research group）所設計，預期對塞車、能源和土地使用的浪費、空氣汙染和噪音問題、以及會導致全球暖化的二氧化碳排放量等問題，將身負重任。
A foldable electric CityCar has been created at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab and commercialized by a consortium of automotive suppliers in Spain's Basque region.
Since 2009, the MIT Media Lab has collaborated with Denokinn, the Basque Center for innovation, from Vitoria, Spain, and their partner companies to refine the design and technology of the CityCar ahead of its commercialization.
Branded Hiriko, which means urban in the Basque language, these two-passenger micro cars are just two meters long and weigh 450 kilos. The passenger cabin can slide upwards as the wheels roll together, folding the chassis to minimize the car's footprint when parked.
When folded, three CityCars can fit into one traditional parking space, making parking much more efficient in crowded cities.
The Hiriko's electric motors are in the wheels, called Robot Wheels. Each Robot Wheel can be independently controlled, allowing the CityCar to execute tight maneuvers such as spinning on its own axis to achieve what MIT calls an "O-turn." The Robot Wheel modules are controlled electronically using by-wire systems made popular by the aerospace industry.
The CityCar runs on two rechargeable lithium-ion batteries with a range of 120 kilometers . Its top speed is curbed electronically to comply with speed limits in city centers.
Several cities have shown interest in the CityCar - Barcelona, Berlin, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Malmö in Sweden, Quito and the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador and Vitoria-Gasteiz, the second largest city in the Basque region.
Private citizens as well as cities will be able to purchase the folding cars at prices around 12,500 euros (US$16,600).
The late Professor William J. Mitchell's (1944-2010) Smart Cities research group designed the CityCar to take on the biggest issues facing cities - congestion, inefficient use of energy and land, air and noise pollution, and carbon emissions leading to global warming.
回應
適用性?
這類車款的設計, 僅適合都會區上班族上下班或用於非長途, 不需載運太多/太大物品時使用。
其實就有點像是縣在的摩托車的角色，但比摩托車舒適些，安全些。
這類的交通需求，對一般平民百姓而言，似乎應該是從強化大眾運輸網上面下手才是，而節能的部份，就更應該從大眾運輸系統的規劃上著手才是。
例如：明明開 BRT 綠能公車可解決當地運輸量的需求，卻硬是開高運量 MRT 捷運系統，這樣的規劃本身就是浪費能源，不但不能降低能源需求，還因為要維持班次的便利性，而大幅增加能源的消耗。
又如：捷運車站本身就會佔有地坪，以及高架式的捷運也會佔有面積，捷運的屋頂，或者高架的空間，轉為提供太陽能的建置空間，或者風力發電，道路震動發電 等等，也不失為一種降低耗用石化能源的一種設計。捷運班次的管理也是降低耗能的重要途徑之一。
文中這類車款，反而比較適合那些都會區通勤族，但又不願搭乘大眾運輸系統的人選擇。
這些人有很大的比例是白領階級，會不會看上這類型車款呢?