中国车企做了一个车载马桶

Speaking of China's electric car industry, a piece of news recently made the whole world laugh.

A Chinese car company applied for a patent.

What patent?

An in-car toilet.

Yes, you heard right.

A toilet inside a car.

The thing you use in the bathroom.

They want to put it in a car.

Let's talk about this story.

This company is called Seres.

Seres is a Chinese electric car brand.

Based in Chongqing.

Chongqing is a big city in China.

Seres makes electric SUVs.

An SUV is a bigger kind of car.

What's this patent about?

Simply put, under the passenger seat.

There's a hidden toilet.

You can't see it.

Normally it hides under the chair.

When you need to use the toilet.

You just say one sentence.

Because it's voice-controlled.

Voice-controlled means using your voice to control it.

You say "I need to use the toilet."

Then the toilet slides out like a drawer.

From under the chair.

You can use the toilet in the car.

After you're done?

The toilet slides back by itself.

Hides back under the chair.

So what about the waste?

Waste is the stuff left behind after you use the toilet.

Under the toilet there's a removable storage box.

Inside there's a heating element.

It can evaporate the liquid.

Evaporate means water turns into gas.

Disappears.

Solid stuff gets dried.

There's also an exhaust fan.

An exhaust fan is a small fan.

That blows the bad smell out of the car.

So the car won't be stinky.

But in the end.

That storage box still needs to be taken out and cleaned by hand.

This part isn't very pleasant.

Is this toilet a real product now?

Not yet.

It's just a patent.

A patent is when a company writes down their idea.

Tells the government.

The government says this idea is legally protected.

Other companies can't copy it.

But having a patent doesn't mean it'll become a product.

Many patents never become real things.

This in-car toilet might be made.

Or might not.

We don't know.

Seres said in the patent filing.

What's the purpose of this toilet?

It's to "satisfy users' toilet needs during long trips, camping, or overnight stays in the car."

Long trips means going to far away places.

Camping means staying in tents outdoors.

Overnight in the car means sleeping in the car at night.

In these situations, finding a toilet really isn't easy.

Especially in China.

China is very big.

Some places are very far apart.

Driving from one city to another.

Might take several hours.

There might not be any toilets in between.

So this idea actually makes sense.

It's just the way they did it is too funny.

Putting a toilet in the car.

Your friend is sitting next to you.

You say one sentence.

The toilet comes out.

Imagine that scene.

After this news came out.

Car media all over the world reported it.

Everyone was laughing.

But some people also said.

China's electric car industry is just like this.

Competition is too fierce.

Everyone tries every possible way to make their car different.

Some cars have refrigerators.

Some cars have big TVs.

Some cars can turn into a bed.

Some cars have karaoke.

Now there are even cars with toilets.

This is the "arms race" of Chinese electric cars.

Whoever can think of something crazier.

Wins.

At least wins the news headlines.

Next time you ride in a Chinese electric car.

Maybe you can ask.

"Does this car have a toilet?"

If it does.

That's the future.

A future with toilets.

Seriously though.

There are so many electric car companies in China.

Competition is extremely fierce.

Every company wants to make their car different.

You have a fridge, I have a fridge too.

You have a big screen, I have a bigger one.

You can lie down and sleep, I can sing karaoke.

Everyone is competing.

Whose car has more features.

Whose car is more like a house.

Seres probably thought: nobody else has a toilet.

We do.

That's our difference.

Is this idea a bit crazy?

Yes.

But in China's electric car industry.

If you're not crazy you lose.

Because everyone is crazy.

If you're not crazy you're just ordinary.

Ordinary means nobody looks.

Nobody buys.

So the toilet arrived.

This is maybe innovation.

A very funny kind of innovation.

But it's definitely innovation.