Continuing just-auto’s series of interviews with tier one component suppliers, we spoke to Dr Rose Ryntz, Vice President, Advanced Development & Material Engineering, International Automotive Components (IAC) Group and Carter Cannon, Manager Functional Integration, Advanced Development and Engineering, IAC Group. IAC is a global supplier of automotive components and systems, including interior and exterior trim.
What are the megatrends in the automotive car interiors industry and how could that shape the look and feel of tomorrow’s interiors?
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In alignment to the overall automotive megatrends, we see three different main developments that will drive the automotive car interiors industry in the next years and decades.
First, the quest for more lightweight solutions for electrical vehicles will continue to drive interior innovation. Developing new lightweight materials with a high-quality appeal and flat flooring solutions to allow more design freedom are key drivers for IAC to support the needs of OEMs regarding electrical vehicles.
Second, autonomous driving cars will change the consumer’s behaviour and interaction with the interior. For the interior design, this means that we will see more integrated electronics, large displays dominating the cockpit and new features to accommodate the change from driving mode to autonomous mode, e.g. working, resting/sleeping and entertainment).
And third, new automotive business models such as car sharing and alternative mobility solutions are emerging. For the vehicle interiors, this means the development of resilient materials for vehicles used by a number of different people with different expectations. Anti-bacterial surface treatments, easy refresh of interior, enhanced IOT connections and direct and in-direct ambient heated interior surfaces (for electrical vehicles) are only few examples of interiors meeting the customer’s demands for shared cars.
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By GlobalDataWe often hear about the differences in consumer taste and preference for car interiors in, say, Europe versus China. Could you give us your vision of the Chinese premium car segment by 2020 and how it will differ from elsewhere?
Regarding the Chinese premium car segment, we see already now that the car owner is usually a passenger with a driver/chauffeur. That implies highest demands on customised individual interior features. We will increasingly see new technologies and solutions to make the car´s interior even more individual, comfortable and enjoyable. Examples are heated cut and sew flooring with ambient lighting and lots of tuneable RGB lighting that can be animated. There will also be an increasing demand for visual cultural symbols on interior surfaces to express the status and individual preferences of the car owners, e.g. custom individualised headliner, door trim inserts and pillars.
Regardless of region or culture, an increasing demand for high-quality interiors can be seen as a worldwide trend. How is IAC dealing with this development?
Craftsmanship has become key for interiors, and hence it has increasingly been important for automotive manufacturers. To meet the higher quality expectations of the customers with the needs of weight and cost reduction of the OEMs, IAC has improved its manufacturing processes to combine new-age technology with old-time craftsmanship that concludes in modern-day efficiency. IAC’s integrated development approach provides for extensive in-house materials expertise, especially with regard to premium materials such as natural fibre and leather.
With its 2020 Vision IAC has announced a global strategy of supporting customers with innovative and high-quality interiors solutions that help them to create sales success in the various regions where they are located. This means also that IAC is permanently investing into its manufacturing footprint. The latest example is the new IAC plant in Opole, Poland, for tailored instrument panels that will be operational in mid-2017. The facility will be built in accordance with IAC’s world class manufacturing standards and will initially focus on highly crafted cut and sew operations as well as hand-wrapped premium instrument panels. With the Opole plant, IAC is strategically located to support the growth plans of several OEM customers in the region.
We are hearing more and more about autonomous cars and how they might look and feel, specifically the interior. What opportunities does this present IAC and what is your vision of the interior?
The interiors of autonomous vehicles from level 3 upwards will need critical communicative information and visual cues to the driver besides a display. IAC has vast experience in illuminated surfaces and seamless integration of lighting that are ready for this transition. In addition, these technologies can be combined with IAC’s lightweight and natural/sustainable materials and technologies. Further, IAC technologies for interiors of level 3 and 4 autonomous vehicles include digitally ink-jet printed backlit soft touch translucent surfaces, animated overhead systems and sidewall trim.
To what extent will mass customisation be a part of the autonomous car?
Future customers will expect to be connected and to instantly change their vehicle environment for the experience they prefer. This will apply especially to the vehicle interior. Innovative material solutions, for example, can provide changing surface colours and decorative graphics and designs that will be tuneable with changing themes. Imagine what new driving experiences we could create if we would enable the entire cabin interior to encompass with seamless 360-degree immersive environments. This would allow that your autonomous vehicle to drive in Detroit but the passengers feel, imagine and experience as they would drive through the French Alps.
Presumably using eyes, voice and hand gestures, it is possible to eliminate buttons from an infotainment system. What is your vision of this touch-free user experience?
Currently, we see the first distraction free interfaces that allow the driver and passengers to control system functions of the car. These existing scenarios for autonomous level 1, 2 and 3 see hand gestures as technical solutions for these features. But they are cumbersome and not accurate as well as forcing the person to double check by looking at the information to reaffirm and therefore distracting them. An alternative could be functions that are voice activated, i.e. Alexa, Contana or Siri. One step further, Artificial Intelligence (AI) will soon free the ‘driver’ from controlling the vehicle and will instead detect and implement instantly like a radar by recognition and machine learning.
As we understand it, the difference between owned and shared cars has implications for interior designers. For instance, shared vehicles need open access and visibility hence a closed glove box could be eliminated. What do you see as the practical implications for the interior of shared cars?
We recognise that the current focus and discussion on shared vehicles almost always is concentrated on urban, smart city scenarios. However, the conversation should also include suburban scenarios for level 4 of autonomous driving for both, short-term use and also extended use. Designing interiors especially for shared vehicles means to make use of durable and resilient materials and anti-bacterial surfaces. For a high level of individuality, interiors of shared vehicles will also allow to change colours and graphics of the interior´s surfaces, including seating and flooring.
Taking car sharing to the next stage and merging it with the prospect of self-driving cars, what are the implications for interior design, choice of fabric, functionality/features?
Interiors of cars and also shared vehicles will evolve, but the implications to level 3 and 4 of autonomous driving will involve more the vehicles ‘learning’ software & system to quickly adjust to the individual needs and preferences of different drivers. This includes the hands on, hands off ‘take over’ scenario and an ‘intuitive’ user interface design that inspires trust and allows the driver and passengers to relax and enjoy the ride and experience.
What premium will OEMs pay for weight reduction?
With the added weight of the batteries of electrical vehicles, the OEM has no choice but to reduce vehicle weight wherever possible, including the interior, the electronic wire harness (from cable to flat FR4 printed harnesses), reducing material thicknesses or using secondary methods. With design optimisation and creative thinking the cost impact can be minimised without sacrificing quality and craftsmanship. IAC HybridFleece Molding, for example, allows for significant weight savings in tomorrow’s interiors. It is a unique process for combining the pressing of a thermoplastic mixed fibre fleece from a natural fibre, glass or recycled carbon fibre with the molding of stiffening ribs and clips into a one-step process in the same molding tool with no need for additional welding or glueing. The technology can be used to produce a variety of lightweight structural and visible (A-surface) interior components and is designed to reduce process complexity.
Another IAC lightweight technology that delivers a 20-30 percent weight savings is Coreback, an injection molded product with a foam core centre which results in a standard thickness part with significantly reduced mass.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
What autonomous vehicles, electric platforms and car sharing in 2017 is no longer disruptive but the new normal – the ‘hype’ for autonomous vehicle´s ‘living room on wheels’ will quickly drop and attention will focus on the realities of the vehicles and interiors of the future – addressing new homologations, federal safety, new infrastructure to support. In addition to the exception of the bundled ‘share scenario’ there will be a deep societal divide between the haves and the have-nots.
See also Global light vehicle instrumentation and cockpits market – forecasts to 2031
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The Changing World of Car Interiors
