Future design of cars promises much more than the reinvention of the wheel

On the outskirts of Stuttgart, the German city where Gottlieb Daimler invented the car 129 years ago, a team of engineers is envisioning a future when people won’t own or even drive their cars.

Instead, the few dozen members of Mercedes business innovation unit are figuring out how customers’ children will use the carmaker’s products. That can mean everything from car-sharing in Chinese megacities to 3-D printing for classic car parts, package-delivery drones and a driverless concept car that doubles as a luxury lounge.

Reviewing the best use for the car has become a necessity for the maker of the Mercedes S-Class luxury saloon as more drivers question the traditional concept of individual ownership. As transport evolves from a product to a service, changes set in motion by the likes of Google, Uber and Tesla are forcing Mercedes to react and make bold predictions about the future of mobility.