💺Leading Car Seat Manufacturer: Lear Corp.

Recently I came across a study of the most comfortable seats and they also included the manufacturers in the study as well. The top rates cars in the Premium segment were as follows:

• Premium Car

  • Audi A5: 3.8
    Porsche Taycan: 4.5
    Porsche 911: 4.7

• Premium SUV

  • Porsche Cayenne: 4.0
    BMW X3: 4.6
    Porsche Macan: 5.1

According to the study, all the top rated seats were made by Lear corporation. So I had to dig into what this company was about.

Lear Corporation is a global leader in automotive seating and electrical systems, headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1917, Lear has grown to become one of the world’s largest suppliers of automotive seating and E-Systems, which include vehicle electrical systems and advanced electronics.

Namely they categories of E-systems include

• Low Voltage Wiring

• High Power Junction Box

• Battery Disconnect Unit

• Body Control Module

• Smart Power Distribution Box

Their key product offerings as part of electrification includes:

The company designs, manufactures, and supplies seating systems, including complete seat assemblies, seat frames, and related components.

They also have seating solutions that combine heating, ventilation, pneumatic lumbar and massage for OEMs like Lucid, Volvo.

With a presence in over 38 countries and more than 160,000 employees, Lear is recognized for its innovation, quality, and commitment to sustainability in the automotive industry. As of when writing this, Lear Corporation is traded at 114,75 USD for a total market cap of 6.4 Billion USD.

They mention most of the Chinese OEMs in their recent investor update. But the real question is for how long can they maintain this leadership position. Will we see the same trend as Chinese OEMs end up referring local suppliers.

The winning strategy -> Acquiring their way into vertical expansion.

From the 2000s, they have strategically acquired company after company to build the in-house competence to provide a complete solution for OEMs. Starting right from fabric and leather related acquisitions to the automations and thermal comfort related acquisitions in the past couple of years. And with each year and each product launch they have learned something that is invaluable and that does not readily show up on the balance sheet: how to work with different OEMs. If there is one thing that I have understood from being in the industry is that different OEMs work in a very different way. And to provide the right product for a particular product line is a challenge in itself.

Lear has further articulated he advantage they have by vertically integrating compared to other suppliers in the following slide:

What's next in seat tech?

2 trends -> 3d printing seats and the use of sustainable materials

Porsche's 3D-Printed Bodyform Full-Bucket Seat

• Concept introduced as a "3D-printed bodyform full-bucket seat". Composed of three layers: expanded polypropylene base, 3D-printed polyurethane comfort layer, and Racetex fabric skin

• Comfort layer customizable in softness (soft, medium, or hard) and visible through perforated Racetex for climate control

• Inspired by custom race driver seats; first showcased in the Mission R concept at the Munich Motor Show. Lighter by 8% compared to standard Porsche bucket seats and more environmentally friendly due to clip-together layers.

• Initial pricing at €2,677.50 ($3,106 U.S.) in Germany, with quick dealer installation

• Potential for future customization to shape seats to individual buyer's contours if successful