“Are we going to accept that we have to reduce comfort to meet weight reduction needs for future cars?”
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Dr. Olaf Biedermann, Director Innovation Europe at Faurecia Autositze GmbH, talks in the interview below about the on-going conflict between weight reduction and seating comfort and how the upcoming CO2 regulation affects it. Read the interview with Dr. Olaf Biedermann, Faurecia Autositze GmbH here: http://bit.ly/FaureciaBiedermann
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“Are we going to accept that we have to reduce comfort to meet weight reduction needs for future cars?”
- 1. “Are we going to accept that we have to reduce comfort to meet weight reduction needs for future cars?” Automotive IQ recently spoke with Dr. Olaf Biedermann, Director Innovation Europe, at Faurecia Autositze GmbH, about seat design and the on-going conflict between weight reduction and seating comfort. IQPC: Dr. Biedermann, could you please introduce yourself, what is your background and what is your recent role at Faurecia? In my role as Director Innovation Europe I do have the pleasure to lead the “dWorks” innovation organisation in Munich, Germany that works on breakthrough innovation concepts to all aspects for automotive seats. My background is in mechanical engineering with a focus in mechatronics and pneumatics. Over the last ten years, I have hold different Head of R&D positions within the aerospace and automotive supplier’s industry. You will host our Focus Day on the topic of “The lightweight seat design challenge”. What are the drivers of lightweight seat designs? When we look at the automotive scene at the moment, I think the key driver right in Europe now is CO2 regulation. The coming regulations drive a lot of innovations in seating and design at the moment. It’s about reducing weight and CO2 emissions in the future. There seems to be a conflict between cost reduction and the use of new materials, which leads to the question: do new (and lightweight) materials pay-off? How so? Actually, they not always pay off. In the past we have had difficulties to argue cost increase versus weight reduction. Since the CO2 regulations or penalties are out, we notice a tendency amongst our customers that they are willing to pay for weight reductions. New materials like composites, aluminium or magnesium now have better chances to be found in lightweight seat design. How would you describe the drivers’ demands for comfort, flexibility and safety? Demand and requirements for comfort and safety will rather increase than decrease. Customers will expect the same or even better comfort in the future. When we talk about comfort, this tends to be more personalized in the future.