Can this electric vehicle be fast, portable, and luxurious all at the same time?

As expansion of large cities continue, hipsters, businessmen, women, and anyone else that commutes are continuously looking for different modes of transportation that fit more naturally with their environment. Electric bikes and scooters, hoverboards, even remote-controlled skateboards are becoming ever more popular because they’re faster in ever increasing traffic.

But none of those vehicles are really “luxury” modes of transportation. Hoverboards only go so fast and so far, and same with remote-controlled skateboards. Electric bikes and scooters can go a bit further and faster, but they aren’t really luxurious. Plus, when you need to travel really far, they aren’t convenient to take on trains or buses because they’re bulky and take up lots of room, not to mention they don’t look that nice in your home for those that store their bikes and scooters in their house.

That’s why Green Ride caught my eye with its solution for urban transportation – the INU. The INU is a small, portable, foldable vehicle that puts the rider at the center of the rider experience. It comes equipped with a phone dock, GPS, and even GSM so the rider can even take selfies or film videos right from the handlebars. It’s currently in prototype phase, but the company says the INU will be environmentally friendly while also super luxurious. It also looks pretty futuristic and cool folded up when it’s stored in your house, taking up much less room than basic electric scooters and bikes.

Created for city goers, INU is aimed at people who need a quick and stylish means of transport within the concrete jungle. Riders can use it as their main means of travel in the city, or as a complimentary vehicle for a train commute. If you’re commute is really long, you can fold it up and roll it onto the train with you, and unfold it once you get off to continue riding it.

The coolest part about INU is that it folds on command. That’s not a figure of speech – users can actually give it a voice command or a hand gesture from the INU smartphone app and it’ll fold up on its own.

INU will be launched at the end of this year in the U.S. and Europe and is aimed at high-end consumers. INU is offered in three different models, which differ according to how much distance they can travel when fully charged (20km, 30km, and 40km).

INU says it wants to build a product that takes into account practicality, design and lifestyle. Designed with today’s world in mind, the company says it is aiming for the highest standards of personal tech in vehicles so that it looks just as amazing folded as it does in motion.

Though INU will probably face some backlash for its price range (it retails at €2,999 (approx. $3,400), €3,999 (approx. $4,400), and €4,999 (approx. $5,500) respectively, depending on model), riders who can afford to live luxuriously will probably splurge on this latest tech innovation. I mean, who doesn’t want an electric scooter that will fold up automatically when you tell it to?

If you’re interested in learning more about electric vehicles this is also a great post to read.