Former BMW and Apple employees unveiled its new US$45,000 electric car called Byton at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Las Vegas.

Despite experts saying the new Byton electric car currently lacks the charging infrastructure it requires, the firm behind it told the BBC it “hoped people in future would care more about digital power than horsepower”.

“We want to be the company bringing into the market the first real smart car,” said Carsten Breitfeld, Byton’s chief executive.

‘Merging your life outside of the car’

The vehicle includes a huge touchscreen dashboard, with its main display showing video clips, calendars, mapping, health data and so on.

Internal cameras adjust the driving seat position as soon as you sit down, determining who you are whilst loading your profile.

The front seats have the ability to turn towards each other for a “more comfortable and sociable position” – opening up the middle of the car so those in the back can see the large display screen on the dashboard.

“What we want to try to do is merge your life outside of the car with your experience inside the car,” added Jeff Chung, head of Byton’s Intelligent car experience to the BBC.

Written by Leah Alger