EV INTERIORS
4
“The problem of electric cars
for a designer is that you
have to accommodate six
inches of battery pack”
Gorden Wagener, chief design offi cer, Daimler
www.electrichybridvehicletechnology.com // January 2020 // 105
engine compartment and front seats,” says
Canatu’s CEO, Juha Kokkonen. “This enables
either more space inside the car, or even
smaller cars. Also the fl oor space can be
more fl at. With more space created,
interior designers can design more
comfort features inside the car.”
Which is also where Canatu
comes into its own, as experts
in 3D touch surfaces which
could soon replace many
physical mechanical controls.
“Any surface can be smart and
aesthetically integrated, saving
space and weight,” Kokkonen
continues. “3D touch can be
integrated with plastic, textile, leather
or glass and in door controls, center consoles,
steering wheels and roof modules. As the 3D
touch surfaces are software-based, you can
design one surface to serve several functions.”
Nearer term, the interior design of the VW
I.D.3 has also been simplifi ed by using fewer
materials. Sit inside the brand’s fi rst bespoke
EV and it is a pleasingly pared-back space with
little ornamentation or added surface
treatments, but one based on much more than
minimalist aesthetics, as Bischoff explains: “It’s
about the democratization of electric mobility
to get the price point down and also at the end
of its lifespan it’s then easier to dismantle and
recycle. If you use materials in a combined way
it’s much harder.”
On the outside
Other vehicle makers are also grappling with
how to make good-looking EVs with good
interior space, beyond short-range city cars
such as the Honda e and Mini Electric with
smaller battery packs, and medium-to-large
SUVs which can cope with larger battery packs
because they still have high roofl ines. Chief
design o cer for Daimler, Gorden Wagener
explains why its Mercedes brand has chosen to
produce two luxury limousines – including an
all-electric limo based on the EQS concept
shown at the 2019 Frankfurt motor show. “The
problem of electric cars for a designer is that
you have to accommodate six inches of
battery pack, so six inches worse in height
proportion,” he explains. “We did the exercise,
with a three-box sedan, adding six inches to an
S-Class. It did not look good.”
The solution was to take inspiration from
the cab-forward F 015 concept of 2015 but
extend the wheelbase and apply what Wagener
calls a “one-bow” side silhouette, like the gentle
4. Mercedes is releasing
an all-electric limousine
based on the EQS
concept (pictured) that
has had to completely
redesign its exterior and
interior proportions due to
the addition of the battery
/www.electrichybridvehicletechnology.com