The tiny autonomous EV will have inductive charging and lack a steering wheel or pedals. But what it's missing in controls, it makes up for in utility. The car will be shared not only with other individuals via ride hailing; when it's not being used to shuttle people around, it can double as a rolling informational display. According to Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche, when idle, the Vision EQ can be used to display sports scores, the weather or the time in a city center.

Zetsche noted that the Vision EQ, like the company's first Hypercar, the Mercedes-AMG Project One, is built with two types of customers in mind: the urban dweller who needs to get around but doesn't want the hassle of car ownership and the hardcore enthusiast with a huge pile of cash who's looking to go fast and turn heads while still being on the bleeding edge of automotive technology.