It’s what’s on the inside that counts – car interiors are rising in importance in the automotive industry.
At Ruskin Design we already know how a car interior can revolutionise a person’s driving experience and take them to the next level of luxury. It seems that the rest of the world is thinking the same thing! The automotive industry is changing and there is a significant rise in the importance of car interiors according to a recent study.
For many years, the exterior of a car has been the main deciding factor and while this is still a huge influencer, customer expectations are changing, and the quality of the interior is growing in importance. The study by Ashai Kasei Europe surveyed 1,200 car users in Germany, France, Italy and the UK about their preferences focusing on the future of car interiors. They determined that the interior of a car is becoming a decisive factor in the buyer behaviour and purchasing process.
It’s a material world
Quality is an overriding factor when it comes to purchasing a vehicle and quality means different things to different people. It can be fuel consumption, running costs, technology exterior and interior among many other things. One of the things that drivers found most irritating in their current car was the poor quality of the vehicle interior and when it comes to purchasing their next car they would be willing to pay more for better quality seats, dashboards and technology.
When considering the material itself, respondents of the survey think that sustainable seat coverings will become much more important over the next 5-10 years. The growing pressure towards choosing more environmentally friendly transportation is probably a big motivator for this.
It isn’t a surprise that interiors are becoming more important as car models have been quoted as “you can’t tell one from the other without looking at the nameplate”. So the differentiating factor becomes the quality of the interior. Another consideration is the longevity of the car, a poorly fitted interior isn’t going to stand the test of time and customers aren’t as eager to continually trade in their vehicles.
Here are some of the interesting stats they found in the study:
- 10.3% of respondents say poor surface materials are the most annoying factor in their current car.
- 32.5% of respondents said they’d be willing to pay more for higher quality surfaces in their car.
- 44.8% of respondents value interior surfaces that look and feel high quality. Only 11.4% don’t care about the quality of surfaces.
- 57% of respondents value sustainable materials and would choose faux leather over genuine leather.
- 49% of respondents see a benefit in textiles with antibacterial qualities.
There are going to be significant changes in how interiors are designed in the next 5 years and at Ruskin Design®, we are going to continue our hard work designing the highest quality interiors and building upon our already fantastic portfolio of work, including the revolutionary vegan interior. The Ruskin Inside™ trademark offers unrivalled quality and we have been pioneering the interior experience since our conception.
To find out more about our interiors, the processes we use and the techniques that make a Ruskin Inside® interior, get in touch.