Magna Debuts New “EZ Entry” Seating Innovations

Magna International Inc. has debuted its latest range of automotive seating innovations including smart solutions like the Pitch Slide and Tip Slide 2^nd Row EZ Entry vehicle seats. Both the Tip Slide and Pitch Slide seating arrangements are smart solutions geared towards making today’s SUVs easier to access and more flexible when it comes to space.

While the Pitch Slide seat is meant specifically for the passenger seats in the second row of a vehicle, the Tip Slide is meant for the second row on the driver’s side. These seating arrangements be first seen in 2017 model-year vehicles and the Pitch Slide has already made its appearance in the market in GMC vehicles.

The seating innovations use ingenious mechanisms from Magna like the i-DiSC 4 recliners and META tracks to give passengers greater flexibility to access the third row of seats in an SUV as the second row seats can now be easily released and moved forward to allow more space for entry and exit. Using the Pitch Slide seat not only allows enough room for a wider opening, but also eliminates the need to remove a child seat that has already been installed in order to access the third row. This is a need that is greatly felt when transporting a large group in an SUV and is based on typical requirements for consumer use.

Speaking about the innovations, Dino Nardicchio, Global Vice President, Research and Development, Magna Seating  said that consumer needs have evolved over time. People’s lives have become increasingly hectic and people use their vehicles for different needs throughout the day thus their vehicle seating needs often change through the need ranging from carrying goods to transporting passengers. Magna’s new flexible seating options go far beyond the ‘one size fits all’ approach with more functionality and easier adaptability to address lifestyle needs. Thus customers get access to more customized control.

Magna’s new seating solutions have been validated through a global ethnography study that was conducted to discover consumer insights and problems about common seating issues in cars and trucks. The study identified several factors that influenced consumer wants and needs, including the purposes for which people used their vehicles and factors affecting their lives and marketplace. Magna will use the study as a guide to develop more seating innovations in the future.