Global and China Automotive Comfort System (Seating system, Air Conditioning System) Research Report, 2024
Automotive comfort systems include seating system, air conditioning system, soundproof system and chassis suspension to improve comfort of drivers and passengers. This report highlights seating system and air conditioning system.
Seating system: the penetration of comfort functions rises, and zero-gravity seats usher in a boom period.
As intelligent vehicles gain popularity, automotive seats have ever more comfort functions such as heating, ventilation, massage, electric leg/foot rests and memory seat. Not only is the penetration of these functions on the rise, but they also begin to spread from the front row to the third row of seats.
In the case of seat heating function, from January to November 2023, its installation rate in the front row and the second row was 7.8% and 3.9%, respectively. Since 2022 the third row of seats has also begun to be equipped with heating function, and the main models include Li L8/L9, WEY Gaoshan and NIO ES8.
In terms of entire seats, the installation of zero-gravity seats has reached a small peak. Since being installed on AITO M7 (RMB289,800-379,800) in July 2022, zero-gravity seats have been mounted on models like IM LS7 (RMB309,800-459,800), AITO S7 (RMB249,800-349,800), ZEEKR X (RMB189,800-209,800) ), WEY Blue Mountain DHT (RMB273,800-308,800), Denza D9 (RMB335,000-445,000), and Trumpchi E8 (RMB209,800-229,800). They have been optional as driver’s and copilot seats of Deepal S7 (RMB149,900-202,900), a model launched in June 2023.
In the future, zero-gravity seats will be equipped with various sensors to enable adaptive adjustment, health monitoring and other functions, and comfort functions will keep being upgraded.
Faurecia: In April 2023, Faurecia introduced Zero-Gravity Captain Chair. It offers additional comfort with sensors able to identify potential physical pain and then activate corrective actions to alleviate any discomfort. It incorporates high-tech comfort solutions, such as an inflatable neck pillow and a headrest that automatically adjusts to its occupant’s height. As well as lower-back support and massage functions with pressure mapping to enhance relaxation, it includes a new, immersive haptic solution called VIBE, where tactile sensations are created by the car seat, stimulating the user’s sense of touch. When activated, digital 4D sound algorithms automatically create vibrations that accompany any sound played on the vehicle’s audio system.
Yanfeng: In January 2024, Yanfeng launched the new-generation Hover Seat equipped with Seat Sensing Posture ID technology. Based on zero-gravity research, this seat actively relieves fatigue for passengers during driving by detecting the user's body languages such as sitting posture, fatigue level and body size.
?Adaptive Welcome Mode for Different Body Sizes: When a passenger gets into the car, the seat’s pressure pad sensors accurately recognize information about his/her body size and automatically adjust the headrest, lumbar support and side wings to make the seat more closely fit his/her body.
?Seating Position Recognition and Fitting: The sensor determines the seating posture of the occupant according to the pressure distribution to the seat. Equipped with a matrix of multi-faceted support blocks, the seat automatically adjusts the blocks to give the most comfortable support to the body where needed.
?Fatigue Detection and Automatic Massage: The seat detects the occupant changing their posture over time, then determines the degree and location of fatigue, and automatically triggers the partition massage function.
Air conditioning system: as the installation rate of heat pump air conditioners rises, air conditioning control systems become personalized, energy-efficient and active.
Heat pump air conditioner is an air conditioning system that integrates cooling and heating functions. Its core components include a compressor and a heat exchanger, which control indoor temperature by absorbing or dissipating heat in the air. By virtue of high heating efficiency, obvious energy saving effect, improvement of cruising range and other benefits, heat pump air conditioner has become a new track in the development of electric vehicle air conditioning systems.
The data from ResearchInChina show that in China electric vehicles have begun to carry heat pump air conditioners since 2021, with a surging penetration, up to 23.3% from January to November 2023.
Heat pump air conditioner refrigerants are typically R-134a, R-1234yf and R744 (carbon dioxide, CO?). R744 can extend the cruising range of vehicles because of its better effects in environmental protection, safety, flow heat exchange and low temperature heating, and the prices of its raw materials are low. In the future, CO? heat pump systems using R744 refrigerant will become mainstream. Chinese suppliers have started deploying the CO? heat pump market:
Moreover in terms of air conditioning function, OEMs also head in the direction of refinement. AI algorithms make air conditioning systems controlled in multiple zones, and allow the driver and passengers to set their own temperatures, meeting the needs of different occupants. AI algorithms not only enable accurate control over parameters like refrigerant circulation and fan speed, but also take into account their impacts on battery cruising range to achieve energy-saving control effects.
NIO ES8 (launched in December 2022) packs an intelligent five-zone independent air-conditioning system, which uses a self-developed air-conditioning energy consumption calculation method to achieve: five-zone temperature control, five-zone blowing mode, and four-zone air volume adjustment, accurately controlling 0.5℃ in the range of 15-31℃.This system can be controlled via voice interaction or mobile phone APP remotely.
?Front row: 2-zone temperature control, 2-zone blowing mode, 2-zone air volume control
?Second row: 2-zone temperature control, 2-zone blowing mode, 1-zone air volume control
?Third row: 1-zone temperature control, 1-zone blowing mode, 1-zone air volume control
The OTA Update 4.6.2 has been officially pushed to Li L9 (launched in June 2022), adding a new mode of air conditioning energy saving. In this mode, the car will reduce the power of air conditioning and automatically adjust seat heating and steering wheel heating. While maintaining interior comfortable temperature, this mode cuts down energy consumption and increases the available cruising range of the car in EV mode. In urban commuting in winter (outdoor temperature: <0℃), the CLTC range can be increased by up to 50%.
IM LS6 (launched in October 2023), with its air-conditioning smart air outlet function, automatically turns off the air outlet in unoccupied positions by reading seat signals, making the air-conditioning system more efficient.
FAW-Volkswagen ID.7 VIZZION (launched in December 2023) is equipped with Smart Air, a hidden intelligent air conditioner that can memorize the height of different passengers, and set and adjust the height of the air outlet. Equipped with a climate sensor, it can automatically adjust the wind speed and air outlet angle according to the in-car environment, and automatically turn on defogging and defrosting functions according to humidity and temperature.
Future automotive air conditioning algorithms will use advanced technologies such as deep learning and neural networks to enable air conditioning systems to self-learn and optimize, more accurately predict the driver's needs, directly and actively adjust temperature, air volume and mode, minimizing manual adjustments by users and achieving more precise temperature control and energy efficiency optimization.
China ADAS Redundant System Strategy Research Report, 2024
Redundant system strategy research: develop towards integrated redundant designADAS redundant system definition framework
For autonomous vehicles, safety is the primary premise. Only when ADAS is ful...
Smart Car OTA Industry Report, 2024-2025
Automotive OTA research: With the arrival of the national mandatory OTA standards, OEMs are accelerating their pace in compliance and full life cycle operations
The rising OTA installations facilitat...
End-to-end Autonomous Driving Industry Report, 2024-2025
End-to-end intelligent driving research: How Li Auto becomes a leader from an intelligent driving follower
There are two types of end-to-end autonomous driving: global (one-stage) and segmented (two-...
China Smart Door and Electric Tailgate Market Research Report, 2024
Smart door research: The market is worth nearly RMB50 billion in 2024, with diverse door opening technologies
This report analyzes and studies the installation, market size, competitive landsc...
Commercial Vehicle Intelligent Chassis Industry Report, 2024
Commercial vehicle intelligent chassis research: 20+ OEMs deploy chassis-by-wire, and electromechanical brake (EMB) policies are expected to be implemented in 2025-2026
The Commercial Vehicle Intell...
Automotive Smart Surface Industry Report, 2024
Research on automotive smart surface: "Plastic material + touch solution" has become mainstream, and sales of smart surface models soared by 105.1% year on year
In this report, smart surface refers t...
China Automotive Multimodal Interaction Development Research Report, 2024
Multimodal interaction research: AI foundation models deeply integrate into the cockpit, helping perceptual intelligence evolve into cognitive intelligence
China Automotive Multimodal Interaction Dev...
Automotive Vision Industry Report, 2024
Automotive Vision Research: 90 million cameras are installed annually, and vision-only solutions lower the threshold for intelligent driving. The cameras installed in new vehicles in China will hit 90...
Automotive Millimeter-wave (MMW) Radar Industry Report, 2024
Radar research: the pace of mass-producing 4D imaging radars quickens, and the rise of domestic suppliers speeds up.
At present, high-level intelligent driving systems represented by urban NOA are fa...
Chinese Independent OEMs’ ADAS and Autonomous Driving Report, 2024
OEM ADAS research: adjust structure, integrate teams, and compete in D2D, all for a leadership in intelligent driving
In recent years, China's intelligent driving market has experienced escala...
Research Report on Overseas Layout of Chinese Passenger Car OEMs and Supply Chain Companies, 2024
Research on overseas layout of OEMs: There are sharp differences among regions. The average unit price of exports to Europe is 3.7 times that to Southeast Asia.
The Research Report on Overseas Layou...
In-vehicle Payment and ETC Market Research Report, 2024
Research on in-vehicle payment and ETC: analysis on three major application scenarios of in-vehicle payment
In-vehicle payment refers to users selecting and purchasing goods or services in the car an...
Automotive Audio System Industry Report, 2024
Automotive audio systems in 2024: intensified stacking, and involution on number of hardware and software tuning
Sales of vehicle models equipped with more than 8 speakers have made stea...
China Passenger Car Highway & Urban NOA (Navigate on Autopilot) Research Report, 2024
NOA industry research: seven trends in the development of passenger car NOA
In recent years, the development path of autonomous driving technology has gradually become clear, and the industry is acce...
Automotive Cloud Service Platform Industry Report, 2024
Automotive cloud services: AI foundation model and NOA expand cloud demand, deep integration of cloud platform tool chainIn 2024, as the penetration rate of intelligent connected vehicles continues to...
OEMs’ Passenger Car Model Planning Research Report, 2024-2025
Model Planning Research in 2025: SUVs dominate the new lineup, and hybrid technology becomes the new focus of OEMs
OEMs’ Passenger Car Model Planning Research Report, 2024-2025 focuses on the medium ...
Passenger Car Intelligent Chassis Controller and Chassis Domain Controller Research Report, 2024
Chassis controller research: More advanced chassis functions are available in cars, dozens of financing cases occur in one year, and chassis intelligence has a bright future. The report combs th...
New Energy Vehicle Thermal Management System Market Research Report, 2024
xEV thermal management research: develop towards multi-port valve + heat pump + liquid cooling integrated thermal management systems.
The thermal management system of new energy vehicles evolves fro...