DUBLIN, April 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Automotive Seating Systems Report 2013" report to their offering.

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The global seating market is clearly led at the tier one level by two US companies and one European company, JCI, Lear and Faurecia. Lear and JCI are also very strong in China owing to their having been early entrants into this market, following General Motors and Volkswagen there in the early days of the Chinese market development.

The individual pictures for the major regions show how Lear, JCI, Magna and Faurecia have over two-thirds of the North American and European markets; by contrast the data for Japan/Korea shows how these regions are supplied almost entirely by Japanese/Korean companies.

The Japanese supplier Toyota Boshoku is ranked fourth globally owing to its presence in North America and a rapid rise in its business in China and the rest of Asia in recent years. JCI is unique among the European/North American companies in having a presence in Japan; this is a result of its acquisition of the Ikeda seat company some years ago.

About this report

This fourth edition report takes an in-depth look at the global seating market including the key changes currently underway in the industry and what the future holds for this key sector. The report considers in-house seat manufacture and supply chain developments along with advances in safety, comfort and convenience.

An inside industry view is provided by an interview with Johnson Controls and the study also considers trends in seat comfort and material developments in foam, plastics and metal structures. This research is complemented by case studies, along with profiles of all the major industry players.

Key Topics Covered:

Executive Summary/Overview
- Introduction
- Definitions

Global Market Overview
- Increasing fitment of value-added features to seats
- Global fitment of key technologies
- Suppliers for comfort and convenience features
- Changes are appearing in the nature of OEM supplier relationships
- Comfort and convenience are increasingly important
- Slim seats designed to provide the maximum interior space are attracting significant interest
- Lightweight materials are much in demand
- Eco friendly materials more commonplace

The Global Seat Market

- Market Structure Overview

In-house seat manufacture in Germany

- Seat development and manufacture at the vehicle companies

The Industry View - Keynote Interview with Johnson Controls and an overview of the design development process at Fiat

- Fiat - The seat design development process
- Main factors in seat design
- The cost of the interior is significant
- Comfort, safety, perceived quality and usability are all prime purchase considerations
- In summary

Seat developments - designing for, space, comfort and safety, lightweight and flexibility.

- Seat design
- Johnson Controls ComfortThin seat
- Faurecia's Urban Rhythm Seat
- Materials
- Polyurethane (PU) foams
- Bio based foams
- Polymers replace foam
- BASF
- Weight reduction
- Faurecia's generic seat process - Apollo and Dragon seats
- Faurecia and the Volkswagen Up!
- Johnson Controls has also developed lightweight front seats
- Recycled Materials
- Ford uses recycled materials in its seats where possible
- Ford is actively researching and developing renewable materials
- Seats designed for working and relaxing

Vehicle Company Seat developments

- Introduction
- Audi puts seat comfort high on the agenda
- Pull out thigh support
- BMW focuses on weight savings
- Ford features All Belts to Seat system and inflatable seatbelts
- GM's Cadillac brand introduces Safety Alert seat
- Mercedes develops active seat-belt buckle for rear seats
- Volkswagen has looked to lightweight innovation for small vehicles
- Japanese vehicle manufacturers developing anti-whiplash and fatigue free seats
- Nissan is developing "fatigue-free seats
- Toyota has developed the Whiplash Injury Lessening (WIL) Concept Seat

Company Profiles

- Alfmeier
- Brose
- Camaco
- Car Trim
- CRH
- Dura Automotive
- F S Fehrer
- Faurecia
- FXI
- Grammer
- Grupo Antolin
- Johnson Controls
- Kongsberg Automotive
- Lear
- Magna
- NHK Spring
- Recitel
- Sitech
- Tachi-S
- Toyota Boshoku
- Trim Masters
- TS Tech
- Woodbridge

For more information visit Automotive Seating Systems Report 2013

Research and Markets
Laura Wood, Senior Manager.
press@researchandmarkets.com
U.S. Fax: +1-646-607-1907
Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets