Volvo Cars revealed its new Volvo 360c concept, a holistic view of a future of travel that it says will be autonomous, electric, connected, and safe.

The basis of the 360c is a fully autonomous, fully electric car without a human driver. The concept capitalizes on the freedom in design afforded by the absence of a steering wheel and a combustion engine, providing the ability to reimagine the traditional placement of passengers in rows of two or three.

The 360c presents four potential uses of autonomous driving vehicles—a sleeping environment, mobile office, living room, and entertainment space—which all reimagine the way people travel. It also introduces a proposal for a global standard in how autonomous vehicles can safely communicate with all other road users.

“The business will change in the coming years and Volvo should lead that change of our industry,” says Håkan Samuelsson, president and CEO of Volvo Cars, in a release. “Autonomous drive will allow us to take the big next step in safety but also open up exciting new business models and allow consumers to spend time in the car doing what they want to do.”

The 360c represents a potential competitor to short-haul air travel, a multi-billion dollar industry comprising airlines, aircraft makers, and other service providers. Especially shorter routes where the distance between origin and destination is around 300 km are prime candidates for disruption by an alternative mode of travel, according to Volvo.

“Domestic air travel sounds great when you buy your ticket, but it really isn’t. The 360c represents what could be a whole new take on the industry,” says Mårten Levenstam, senior vice president of corporate strategy at Volvo Cars. “The sleeping cabin allows you to enjoy premium comfort and peaceful travel through the night and wake up refreshed at your destination. It could enable us to compete with the world’s leading aircraft makers.”

Robin Page, senior vice president of design at Volvo Cars, says, “Autonomous vehicle concepts have a tendency to become a technology showcase instead of a vision of how people use it. But Volvo is a human-centric brand. We focus on the daily lives of our customers and how we can make them better. The 360c is the next iteration of this approach.”

“When the Wright brothers took to the skies in 1903, they did not have a clue about what modern air travel would look like,” said Levenstam. “We do not know what the future of autonomous drive will hold, but it will have a profound impact on how people travel, how we design our cities and how we use infrastructure. We regard the 360c as a conversation starter, with more ideas and answers to come as we learn more.”