Back in April, Volvo showed off its Lounge Console at the Shanghai International Auto Show. The concept replaced the usually-unoccupied front passenger seat of a chauffeur-driven vehicle with a multi-purpose luxury footrest for use by the rear-seat passenger. Building on that idea, the Swedish automaker has now unveiled the Excellence Child Seat Concept, which replaces the front seat with a baby seat.
The thinking behind the concept is that it will make access to the infant easier, plus it should also provided added safety and storage space.
In current setups, the child seat is usually mounted in the back seat facing forward. This means that no passengers can directly face the baby, without either twisting around from the front or leaning in from the side. What's more, according to Volvo, infants face a greater risk of car accident-related injuries when facing forward, as they lack neck strength and their heads are disproportionally large compared to their bodies.
By contrast, in the Excellence concept, the back-seat passenger and the baby face one another – and the baby is facing rearwards. Even if just the driver and the infant are in the car, it's still easier for the driver to see the little one's face while driving.
The child seat can also be unlocked and rotated on its pedestal toward the front passenger door, allowing for easier loading and unloading of its precious cargo. Additionally, storage spaces beside and beneath that seat can be used for items such as diapers, bottles or blankets.
There's currently no word on when – or if – the Excellence Child Seat might make its way into a production vehicle.
Source: Volvo
