Hiriko Electric Car Folds Up For Ultra-Tiny Sharing

The Folding Hiriko electric car has been introduced to the world firmly intent on taking up only a fraction of the space a conventional automobile does. This beast is made not only to be friendly to the environment, but friendly to the auto sharing community popping up around the globe as well. You'll see this vehicle floating around Europe at the moment, but we'd certainly welcome it into our own homes here in the USA should they ever decide to bring it on in – it's small enough, after all!

This vehicle has been made by the manufacturers who designed it to work on "first and last mile" problems. This means that it's specifically tuned to be fabulous for the mile you drive between your house and the train or bus as well as the space between you getting to your parking spot before you head to work. In other words, this vehicle aims at being your transport to your transport!

Once you've gotten off the train, you'll see a Hiriko vehicle nearby and you'll be able to rent it to drive the rest of your way to your destination. Similarly, you'll be able to pick a Hiriko up once you've gotten done with your work day and have jumped off the train once again – keep it overnight!

This vehicle will be available in Fold, Alai, and Laga iterations, the first being the one you see above and below, the second being a convertible model (top off!), and the third is closer to a pickup truck. Each of the wheels on this vehicle turn 60 degrees left or right, and their range is always right around 75 miles. With 20 horsepower behind the wheels you've got a top speed of 31 miles her hour as well. Let's get this little beast on the road quick!

[via New York Times]