INNOVATIVESEATING 2015

Trends and Innovations in Automotive SeatingBy Colin Pawsey & Will Hornick

Introduction

The need to reduce carbon emissions has led to a push from OEM’s to reduce weight in all areas of a vehicle, and lightweight seating has become a hot topic over the last few years. This challenge is driving designers and engineers to develop lighter and lighter seats using a variety of innovative new materials and designs.

Seating has changed immensely since the basic cushioned benches used on the very first automobiles, and while the focus now is very much on weight reduction, there are also several other factors for designers to consider. The consumer’s ever-increasing demand for comfort, functionality and safety is not necessarily conducive to reduced weight, but must be maintained nonetheless. OEM’s are also keen to embrace the use of renewable and recyclable materials in seating to improve the overall carbon footprint of their vehicles; such materials must also be integrated without adversely affecting comfort or manufacturing costs.

There has never been a more exciting time in the history of seating, with so many challenges leading to a rapid development of new ideas and innovations.

Drivers of Innovation

Last year, Automotive IQ surveyed our members who work in seating. Given that a car’s seats account for 5% of the vehicle’s total cost and roughly 6% of its weight, the Automotive IQ team expected cost reduction and reducing C02 to rank highly as drivers of innovation for seat designers and seating departments.

Not surprisingly, respondents did list cost as the overall main driver of innovation with approximately 51% choosing it. More interestingly, of those working for OEM companies, 77% chose cost. Our survey also revealed that the desire for features as well as the need to design for safety regulations are actually greater drivers of innovation in seating than a need for C02 reduction.

Recent Developments & Upcoming Trends

Although there have been a number of presentations recently around ‘measuring comfort’ in more objective ways, the two most important areas for recent development in automotive seating are new materials for seat design (51%) and new technology integrated in the seat (46%). With more