In the global automotive seating market, worth some $26.8 billion annually, the main players must offer seats that will appeal to folk of all shapes and sizes. Not only is there the problem of defining comfort levels, but there are also cosmetic questions of colour and trim, the covering materials used, durability, use of child seats, headrests and overall seating arrangement. Seats are also becoming safer yet lighter and slimmer. Matthew Beecham reports on the latest advances in seating technology.
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Selling like hot cakes
In the US, consumer demand for heated and cooled seats is showing meteoric growth. In 2001, Detroit-based Amerigon Inc sold 100,000 climate controlled seating (CCS) systems generating sales revenues of $6.4 million. This year, the company expects to sell about 420,000 units earning it around $29 million, of which about 25% of volumes are exported to Asia. “We are currently working very hard with several European companies that should come on board with is in the next year or so,” said Dan Coker, president and CEO of Amerigon.
The company is busy supplying its proprietary CCS mainly as an option to a number of upmarket models, including the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUV. Amerigon’s system is the first of its kind to deliver cooling and heating to seat occupants through an active, microprocessor-controlled temperature management system. A novel heat pump heats or cools the ambient air drawn into the system and temperature is regulated by individual seat controls. The pump is built around a highly efficient, solid-state thermoelectric device that converts electric current into the desired thermal effect. The warmed or cooled air is circulated through the seat surfaces by a fan mounted within the structure of the seat. It consumes less than 100 watts per seat at maximum output and can cope with virtually all climatic conditions. It is not connected to the vehicle’s heating or air-conditioning system.
Globally, Amerigon estimate that there are around 13.5 million heated seats sold annually to carmakers. Since the CCS product provides active heating, cooling and dehumidification, Amerigon believe that the market potential could be greater for CCS. Simply put, with the availability of cooled seats, more buyers in hot climates may be attracted to this option.
But Amerigon’s CCS technology is still expensive. Prior to the introduction of CCS, the Lincoln Navigator offered consumers heated front seats for $300. The CCS is now offered at $600. “Although the consumer is paying double, remember that he is getting double the effect – he can use our CCS feature year round,” says salesman Coker. The technology is also migrating to the back seats. The company is now supplying CCS to the rear seats of the Cadillac ESV and Lexus LS430.
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By GlobalDataSpace matters
In the small car sector, space matters. But for years, chunky seats have taken up a lot of the room. To get round the problem, Johnson Controls are developing slimline seats. “We have been conducting some developments in-house, independent of the OEM,” said Hugues Gall, senior product manager of the company’s seating division based in Burscheid, Germany. But making seats thinner can compromise comfort, strength and safety. For these reasons, the company says there is still some way to go before slimline seats can enter volume production. “In my opinion, it would not happen before 2006,” said Gall.
Magna International’s Intier Automotive is also developing slimline seats, as Scott Paradise, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Intier, said: “We are using different materials such as mesh or composites which will allow us to build a slimmer appearing seat. The mesh allows the OEM designers to get that little more creative in how the seat will look. It also provides a greater sense of openness in the vehicle as you can see through parts of the seat, in particular the headrests. We have built up several seat systems for testing. It is now a matter of executing the engineering portion of the business. So I would say that you will see these seats in the market place within the next 2 – 4 years.”
While thinner seats will add crucial space inside smaller cars, the ability to transform the cabin to suit different needs remains a hot topic in the sport utility segment. Intier Automotive has also developed a flexible interior for Saturn’s VUE SUV. By pushing a few levers, the right rear and front passenger seats can be folded flat allowing for things like skis and ladders to slide in easily with the boot shut. Each section of the rear seat, split into 70/30 can be folded flat providing some 1785-litres of cargo space. The outboard rear seats have adjustable head restraints, while the optional leather seats have manual lumbar control and temperature control.
As consumers demand more flexibility from their vehicles, suppliers must find yet more novel ways to collapse the rear seat rows. Most work is focussed on folding seats into the floor and roof. For example, Opel’s new Meriva boasts flexible seating and a generous flat cargo space like its bigger brother, the Zafira, and is aimed at women and families looking for a versatile vehicle with lots of interior space in a small package. The rear bench seat is actually two individual seats linked by a centre section, and all three sections fold almost flush with the boot floor. The two seats can also be slid forwards to meet in the middle, allowing two rear passengers to sit further from the doors for safety. They can also be slid backwards, to give even tall adults large-saloon-style legroom. In five-seat mode, the Meriva is only wide enough to seat three children in the rear, however. Opel is predicting that Europe’s total minivan segment will expand from the current 1.7 million units to around 2.3 million a year by 2007, and says 80% of the growth will be for small compact vehicles like the Zafira and Meriva. Meriva’s FlexSpace seating system was developed by Johnson Controls.
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Following four years of joint research and using the expertise of office furniture maker, Steelcase, Johnson Controls has transferred the basic ergonomic features of an office chair to the car. Its so-called Leap seat concept features active seat elements that automatically adapt themselves to the occupant’s body size, posture and even variations in spinal shape. Some 40 patents are hidden inside this deceptively simple new seat structure. For example, the concept’s Live Back system literally changes shape as the occupant’s upper and lower spine moves, eliminating the need to adjust the seat back manually. The US-based interiors giant reckons this system “redefines traditional seat architecture and occupant comfort”. We guess that translates to one small step for man, one giant Leap for seat makers.
Anton’s law
Another growth area in car seating is the child seat. Research shows that 50% of children travelling in cars along European roads are inadequately protected. In the US, recent child restraint inspections revealed that at least four of five children are not buckled up correctly and 80% to 90% of child safety seats are installed or used incorrectly.
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, a non-profit highway safety advocacy organisation based in Washington has welcomed the introduction of H.R. 5504, or ‘Anton’s Law’ – life saving legislation by the US congress. Anton’s Law, named after Anton Skeen, a four-year-old boy who was killed in a car crash in Washington state, requires the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), to improve federal standards for child vehicle restraint systems. The new legislation extends vehicle safety standards to ‘tweeners’, children who weigh more than 50 pounds. Tweeners, aged between 4 to 8 years old, are also sometimes referred to as ‘forgotten children’, as they have outgrown their child safety seats but are still too small for an adult seat belt to fit properly. Anton’s Law requires the NHTSA to mandate carmakers to begin equipping lap/shoulder belts in the centre rear seat by 2005, and by 2008 all new passenger vehicles should have a lap/shoulder belt system for the rear seat. Furthermore, NHTSA has been instructed to assess injury criteria for children more than 50 pounds; to look at how to improve seat belt fit for children over 50 pounds in booster seats; and to consider the options for young children whose only restraint in the back seats are lap belts. The law also requires NHTSA to develop a 10-year-old child test dummy, and to study the benefits of built-in child safety seats and booster seats.
Germany’s Grammer was recently awarded a US patent for its integrated child booster seat. Integrated into a rear seat, Grammer’s booster seat can flip up to support a child. The booster seat is already popular in Europe. Grammer supplies it to VW for fitment as an option inside the Passat and Sharan. Grammer Automotive’s marketing manager, Walter Schoepf, said “The day after we issued the press release announcing our US patent, I received an e-mail from Anton’s parents, Mr and Mrs Skeen, sharing their delight that a German manufacturer is now working on this idea. We are staying in close contact with the family. We are also talking with all the North American carmakers about our booster seat. Although no contracts are on the table, we hope to win a contract next year”
In addition to child booster seats, Grammer is a major supplier of headrests, armrests, seat covers and centre consoles. The company is now paving the way for its expansion in North America and China. In supporting BMW’s X5 business in the US, Grammer set up a production line there and recently opened a sales and engineering office in Troy, Michigan. Its entry into China again depends on its existing customers. “We will follow our customers,” said Schoepf. “VW is producing the Passat in China and Audi is producing the A6. We want to localise our production in China and hope to do that by the end or 2004 or beginning of 2005. At the moment, we are looking to do that through one of three ways: joint venture, greenfield site or by working with a Chinese supplier. At the moment, we prefer the joint venture route.”
