GENEVA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A self-driving car concept will transform the car into a fully connected office. Road journeys will no longer be dead-time away from work or home.
Flexible workspace provider Regus has partnered with Rinspeed to develop the concept car, the XchangE, which will be displayed at the Geneva Motor Show in March. The concept backs Regus’s drive to help people work on the road, and links to its growing Regus Express ‘third place’ network across Europe’s motorways.
The design of the XchangE allows the front seats to swivel backwards, creating a mobile work and meeting space for four people. The car’s infotainment systems allow passengers to connect to their office and work productively.
As well as boosting productivity, the car offers professionals more flexibility over their working schedules. With business completed wherever they are, there’s less need to miss out on family life. Already, businesses that offer flexible working to staff see clear benefits. In Regus research among over 20,000 people globally, 75% of business people say flexible working boosts productivity.
Regus’s involvement with the XChangE complements its other innovations to help people work more flexibly. Its Regus Express strategy has brought walk-in business facilities to motorway service stations, and, in a pilot with Shell, petrol stations throughout Berlin.
Andre Sharpe, Global Product and Business Development Director at Regus, commented: “People already work on the road, thanks to Regus. Now, with the XchangE, Regus’s third place network could encompass the car itself as well as the roadside. A consultant or sales rep could fit in 7-8 hours of productive work each day, using a driverless vehicle, Regus hubs on motorways, and our network of business centres. It’s another illustration of Regus’s commitment to leading the workplace revolution.”
Frank M. Rinderknecht, CEO of Rinspeed Inc, added: “Autonomous cars no longer require drivers to watch the road, so there’s an opportunity to make more meaningful use of their time. Regus’s expertise in helping people work more productively and flexibly makes it the ideal partner for developing this new concept.”
About Regus
Regus is the global workplace provider. Its network of more than 1,800 business centres in 100 countries provides convenient, high-quality, fully serviced spaces for its 1.5million members to work – whether in city centres, suburban districts, railway stations and motorway service stations.