To the innovative new designs from leading seating manufacturers belong Johnson Controls Synergy Seat Gen 3 and Faurecia's lightweight seat frame. Read more about the innovative concepts of the two leading manufacturers in the article below and also find out what the drivers of innovation are, according to the Automotive IQ survey: http://bit.ly/SurveyAutoIQResults

1. INNOVATIVE
SEATING2015
Trends and Innovations in
Automotive Seating
By Colin Pawsey & Will Hornick

2. 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 & UpcomingTrends
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