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At a young age, Wolfgang Ziebart suffered a head injury from a motorcycle accident. He was no stranger to the dangers of riding; his mother, a physician, often recounted the numerous bike injuries she treated at the hospital. Fast forward several years, and this young engineer, who had learned the importance of safety the hard way, rose to the boards of the automotive industry. But as I met him and his team during the presentation of their new concept for personal urban mobility at the IAA Mobility conference in Munich last week, he stated, “A conventional car has no place in the city.”
This statement is remarkable, coming from someone who has built a successful career in the automotive industry over the past fifty years. Ziebart began his professional trajectory with BMW in the 1980s, where he oversaw the development of the bestselling 3 Series (internally known as project E46). In 1999, he was appointed to the board of directors but left the company a year later following the Rover acquisition debacle. He also served as the head of product development at Jaguar Land Rover, a position he took on in 2013.
Although Ziebart retired, he soon returned to the industry. In 2022, using his own resources, he assembled a team of ten former BMW employees with extensive expertise to create a new concept for personal urban mobility: XYTE ONE. This three-wheeled vehicle (with two wheels in the front and one in the back) falls into a new category that combines “the size of a scooter with the safety of a car.”
Three-wheel technology is not new; the iconic old Piaggio three-wheeler comes to mind when navigating the narrow streets of Italian cities. Designed to transport goods and passengers, Piaggio produced its first model in 1948. Today, both Piaggio and other companies offer three-wheel motorbikes that utilize a front axle, allowing anyone with a car license to drive them. This axle also provides advantages in terms of driving dynamics, as it has a short braking distance.
“That’s why we used a front axle too. However, we changed it for a car axle,” explains Ziebart. It’s essentially a double wishbone axle, but the suspension is positioned on top, not fixed as it usually would be, but rather on the beam that allows it to tilt up to 39 degrees. This double-wishbone suspension system uses two pivoting arms to connect a vehicle’s wheel hub to its chassis, providing superior wheel control and camber maintenance for better handling and traction.
“They [motorcycle companies] might be able to make a scooter, but they can’t address all the issues surrounding crashes and safety. That’s why there hasn’t been a suitable option in the market,” says Ziebart. “We came from motorcycles and cars, and it wasn’t that difficult for us to create a meaningful synthesis.” Additionally, traditional vehicle manufacturers are designed for high production volumes and struggle to develop a business case for smaller volumes of smaller vehicles.
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The reinvention of the automobile for cities is urgent, says Ziebart, if we want to enhance urban livability. While the electrification of cars will significantly reduce their carbon footprint, a disconnect persists between cities and the automotive industry; car companies seem to be in denial about this issue. City authorities in Paris and London have already imposed tariffs aimed at decreasing the number of cars in their centers. In exchange, they are promoting the use of two-wheeled vehicles, such as bicycles, kick scooters, e-bikes, and electric scooters. This shift is positive because all these concepts of personal urban mobility are smaller, easier to park, and have a lower environmental impact.
However, maximizing the use of two-wheelers is quite different from ensuring safe mobility. In fact, those aims are largely opposed. Ziebart highlights that “Two wheelers have about 25 times the fatality and serious accident rate per kilometer driven compared to a car.”
Yet, he believes we need safe, small vehicles with a footprint similar to that of a Vespa, as traditional cars occupy too much space, contribute to traffic jams, and mostly only one person is driving a two-ton vehicle around the city. “In downtown Munich, one-third of the traffic consists of vehicles just circling looking for parking spots,” he adds.
In Germany, 43 percent of men drive their own cars to work, compared to just 36 percent of women. Research in the mobility sector shows that women tend to run errands across multiple destinations, while men generally use cars primarily for commuting in the morning.
For women, two-wheelers such as e-bikes and scooters are becoming a viable option for quickly reaching multiple locations. In fact, even in conservative Iran, policymakers recently announced their intention to approve motorcycle licenses for women, as requests for motorcycle riding have surged due to economic conditions and traffic concerns.
“We’re especially thinking about women, because we’ve noticed that helmets are a bit of a nuisance for them,” Ziebart says. Their three-wheeler’s roof frees women from wearing a helmet while protecting them from 80% of all rain and weather conditions. This vehicle doesn’t have doors on the sides, unlike, for instance, a Renault Twizy, which features a car-like interior and full weather protection. The reason is safe driving.
How does a motorcycle driver react to lateral wind? Ziebart elaborates on the dynamics: a motorcycle rider facing lateral wind initially turns into the wind, leans in, and then readjusts to their desired path. Achieving similar maneuverability in a narrow, tilting vehicle with a closed cabin would require advanced steer-by-wire technology, which would significantly increase costs and pose challenges for functional safety.
BMW had previously envisioned an open two-wheeler with a roof about a quarter of a century ago, when it launched the C1 motorbike with the same intention. However, after three years, it was discontinued, reportedly because it did not align with BMW’s brand values. Ziebart notes that since then, there has been little effort to revive this other concept of personal urban mobility. “The first thing I did was sit down with the former C1 developers to carefully analyze what worked well with the vehicle and what did not,” he says.
To address areas for improvement, this group of engineers has carefully studied feedback from C1 customers on internet forums, making adjustments one step at a time. They recognized that the engine was underpowered and noisy, so they introduced an electric motor with a range of over 100 km on a single charge and an electronically limited top speed of 100 km/h. To enhance stability, they implemented two front wheels. At low speeds, the car’s axle can block the tilt, allowing it to stand upright.
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Erik Goplen, a former designer of the successful E46 from California, adapted the vehicle’s design. “Our vehicle is significantly shorter than other long scooters, and we have widened the cabin to ensure that the handlebars are inside for added safety. The width is also crucial, as it allows us to maneuver between cars in Paris,” Ziebart explains.
In cities filled with narrow streets, three-wheeled vehicles can be highly beneficial. For example, in Cairo, ambulance tricycles designed by Egyptian architects from CLUSTER—Cairo Lab for Urban Studies—are deployed to reach patients in densely populated areas where standard ambulances cannot. These tricycles provide rapid first aid and transport patients until larger ambulances arrive, making emergency services more accessible in informal urban settings.
Soon, the XYTE ONE is expected to hit the market, likely in either Paris or Barcelona. “We want to limit the initial launch to a few cities to ensure that every customer has a nearby service partner in case any issues arise,” Ziebart explains.
Mobility and city experts are working hard to engineer personal urban mobility at a time when car owners or two-wheel riders have become more fickle about what qualifies. However, disruption may come from within the industry, driven by veteran car engineers who possess the technical expertise to challenge conventional vehicles and ultimately redefine city driving.
