With increasing urbanization, the demands for mobility solutions are also rising.

Future trends in the industry include not only connectivity, electromobility, and autonomous vehicles, but also shared mobility concepts, which impart a new importance to the vehicle’s interior. At the Future Interior Summit in Boeblingen (Stuttgart region) on November 21, 2018, Han Hendriks, CTO at Yanfeng Automotive Interiors, provided valuable insight into the development of the vehicle interior of the future.

At the Future Interior Summit, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Han Hendriks spoke on the topic, “Accelerating New Automotive Interior Experiences.” A purely practical understanding of individual components and functions is insufficient for developing new interior concepts. Rather, it is essential to understand future passengers and their desires and requirements. That is why market and consumer research is also key at Yanfeng Automotive Interiors’ (YFAI) innovation centers. As CTO, Hendriks is responsible for the vision and strategic planning of YFAI’s technology and innovation work. At this event in Boeblingen, he talked about the role quality of life, the subject of a research study recently conducted by YFAI, will play in the vehicle interior in future.

In the future, the driver of a car will become the passenger and cars will largely move autonomously in city traffic, so the vehicle interior will have a new significance. For instance, drivers will no longer have to concentrate on the road and will be able to use this time for other activities in the vehicle, as it becomes a living and experiential space.

“In designing this space, which we call the ‘Next Living Space,’ we have identified the megatrend quality of life as an important factor,” said Han Hendriks. “In order to understand more precisely what this trend consists of in detail, we performed a global consumer study. Among other factors, we identified three aspects that have an impact on quality of life almost everywhere in the world: safety, physical well-being, and quality.”

Preview of the new YFAI interior concept XiM20

YFAI is using the results of this study to develop the interior of tomorrow. At the Future Interior Summit, Hendriks presented glimpse of the technology of the interior concept currently in development. It will make its world debut in early 2019.

“Our brand-new concept vehicle XiM20 shows our interior vision of a fully autonomous vehicle. The results of our study were particularly valuable for the development process. For example, through the interior, we can offer space to future passengers for various activities and experiences, which even exceed the needs that passengers are currently aware of.”

The Future Interior Summit was organized by the publisher Verlag Moderne Industrie, and provided a platform for decision-makers and developers at OEMs, suppliers, and start-ups together with industry experts to discuss new opportunities for the vehicle interior. In addition to speeches by experts, there was a vehicle interior of the future exhibit.