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https://www.barrons.com/articles/flash-on-your-dash-how-car-interiors-are-being-remade-ec370ad7

Americans are ready for a remake of the automotive interior. The autonomous car—with no driver—enables a complete rethink of how we occupy our vehicles, resembling something more like a living room or train compartment, with occupants sitting in rotating chairs and windows turning into screens for infotainment. That was the premise of the Mercedes-Benz F 015 shown to the world in 2014, when it looked like self-driving and electric cars were developing in sync.

We now know that EVs are progressing much faster than full autonomy, but compact electric motors and batteries beneath the floor have their own liberating effect on the auto interior. The wheels can go to the corners, and the floor can be flat, with much better legroom. The hood opens not to an engine but to a storage “frunk.” Buyers of new cars such as the Hyundai Ioniq 5—Motor Trend magazine’s SUV of the year—are finding a truly spacious, airy interior in a compact space.

“Very soon, the cabin experience is expected to take the spotlight away from automotive elements that have traditionally dominated headlines, including engine performance, exterior design, and powertrains,” McKinsey & Company predicts. The consultants say “automated assistants might have an improved ability to respond to the voices of all passengers.”

That’s just what Toyota AI Ventures was after in its 2019 partnership with Israel-based Intuition Robotics, makers of the Elli-Q at-home assistant that serves as a companion for shut-ins. The goal with Toyota was a “context-aware” in-car companion that would be “proactive, personalized, and adaptive, allowing a bi-directional interaction that will generate a deeper relationship between the user and the car.”

Anyone who has experienced frustration with today’s automotive voice commands can relate to that advance.

The global auto-interior market is projected to reach $153.8 billion by 2025, says Automotive Interior Market Report 2022. “Electric vehicles tend to have a higher number of electronics/advanced systems,” the report says. “Thus, the growing number of EVs will result in an increased demand for advanced automotive interior systems.”

That’s already happening. The Porsche Renndienst, first shown in 2018, is a family-friendly concept van with echoes of the transporters used by Volkswagen’s factory-racing team. Conceived as an EV, it has a single central lounge chair for the driver that swivels 180 degrees to face the passengers.

The van also features asymmetrical windows. “One side is closed; passengers can retreat there,” says Interior Design Chief Markus Auerbach. “The other side enjoys a large window bank for an unobstructed view outside. When we close the doors, the interior feels like a protective capsule.”

The second-row buckets get retractable screens, and a bench seat in the rear wraps around the back of the minivan.

Swiveling seats are a feature of many interior concepts, but their realization has been hung up on a safety point—making airbags and seatbelts work with that functionality.

It’s only a matter of time before the digital-instrument cluster (with 3-D effects) and the central infotainment screen merge and sweep across the car from door to door. The Lucid Air’s curved 34-inch display (with three separate panels) is mostly there, but the Mercedes 55-inch MBUX Hyperscreen (optional on the EQS electric sedan) is the real deal. The passenger gets an auxiliary infotainment screen called the co-driver display. In some markets, the passenger gets to watch videos, with the sound coming in privately through Bluetooth headphones.

Tesla led the movement from physical controls and buttons to centralized infotainment and HVAC functions on a large screen. The industry has largely followed, with over-the-air updates to update the software. But some consumers don’t like the trend, complaining that what used to take a button push now requires a scroll through several screens. Karim Habib, design chief at Kia, thinks big touch screens will need to be more organically integrated with the interior.

Some cars have pioneered camera-based gesture control for simple functions, but that has yet to become widespread. The concept is that a particular hand movement will be recognized and translated into an action, such as checking on home-security cameras. Pointing to a landmark could bring up information about it on the car’s screen. A finger turning clockwise could turn up the stereo volume.

Auto makers, making the connection between EVs and sustainability, are also switching to natural fabrics and recycled materials whenever possible. The upcoming Fisker Ocean electric SUV has a fully vegan interior, and incorporates reclaimed fishing nets, worn T-shirts, and repurposed rubber. Mercedes’s Vision EQXX concept used biodegradable bio-steel fiber for door handles, and artificial leather (made from cactus and mushrooms, with half the carbon impact) for the seats. The floor mats are recyclable bamboo. And BMW’s I Vision Circular uses only recycled steel, rubber, glass, and plastic in the interior.

Finally, future interior concepts, such as the Volvo 360c, have focused on an adaptable interior that can be transformed into a living room, work, or party space—even a bedroom. That’s fascinating, but like many of the more radical interior ideas, it is somewhat dependent on full autonomy (with no driver) being realized.

Meanwhile, of course, traditional luxury-car interiors are experiencing a bit of a renaissance. The launch edition 2023 Rolls-Royce Phantom Series II Platino has front seats in Italian leather, with the rear seats in bamboo fiber and cotton fabric. That’s a pattern from the early days of chauffeured limousines—leather for the driver, cloth for the passengers. Together, Rolls says, the effect is a repeating pattern that the company calls “an abstract interpretation” of the legendary Spirit of Ecstasy ornament.

This article appears in the Winter 2023 issue of Mansion Global Experience Luxury

Americans are ready for a remake of the automotive interior.

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