Car of the future: Electrified and autonomous, but what will it look like?

Infiniti, Nissan Motor's premium brand, Executive Design Director Karim Habib poses for a photo behind the brand's car model at its Global Design Center in Atsugi, Japan, April 18, 2018. Picture taken April 18, 2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

BEIJING: An autonomous driving electric vehicle may not take to the sky any time soon but could one day start to look a bit like The Jetsons’ flying car – a glass bubble without the long hood that is a signature feature of today's gasoline-fuelled cars.

The key game-changing technology behind that prospect is the electric motor – a relatively simple and compact propulsion system which allows automakers to eliminate the hood and the ample room underneath needed for a bulky internal combustion engine, an engine cooling apparatus, and complex transmission gears.