Kia, Alten Korea and BASF develop concept seat for EV3 Study Car

Hyundai Motor Company-Kia, Alten Korea and BASF collaborated to design a seating solution for the Kia EV3 Study Car 2.0, bringing together expertise in vehicle development, engineering, product design and advanced materials. The concept car seat demonstrates how circular material solutions, design-for-disassembly principles and end-of-life considerations could be incorporated to explore more circular approaches for vehicle interiors. BASF's material solutions, including engineering plastics, polyurethanes (PU) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), have been considered in the seat architecture to support easier dismantling and material separation at the vehicle's end of life.

"Study Car 2.0 gives us a practical environment in which to examine end-of-life considerations during vehicle and component development, rather than after the design has been completed," said Jongkook Lee, Vice President, Hyundai Motor Group. "This seat project helps us assess how material selection, assembly methods and future dismantling requirements interact within a complex interior system."

Seat designed as an integrated system

Alten Korea developed the seat design with Hyundai Motor Company-Kia and BASF, translating the partners' material and disassembly objectives into an integrated seat architecture. The design explores how component construction and assembly can facilitate future dismantling and the sorting of materials.

"A seat is a tightly integrated system, so changing how its components are separated also affects its structure, assembly and appearance," said Gwanghyun Kim, Executive Director, Alten Korea, an engineering services company. "We therefore approached the seat as a complete system, balancing structural, assembly and separation requirements within one integrated design."

Materials used

The concept seat incorporates BASF materials across its cushioning, upholstery and structural components:

• Elastollan thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) for the headrest, derived partly from bio-based feedstock, using Whistling supercritical foaming technology patented by Comtech Chemical, Korea.
• Elastoflex W flexible polyurethane (PU) foam containing recycled content from post-consumer feedstock for the seat cushion and backrest.
• Haptex polyurethane synthetic leather with bio-circular feedstock for the upholstery.
• Ultramid CR RC4 polyamide (PA), containing recycled content derived from post-consumer waste, applied on the seat back cover component. The metal seat back frame can also be replaced with Ultramid, for an integrated structure incorporating the back cover.

"Automotive seats require different material classes to work together within a single system," said Andy Postlethwaite, Senior Vice President, BASF Performance Materials Asia Pacific. "This co-creation allows us to examine the interfaces among PA, PU and TPU materials, including how material decisions relate to component construction and separation at the vehicle's end of life."

Study Car 2.0 continues a series of concept vehicle collaborations between Hyundai Motor Group and BASF. Earlier projects included the Hyundai i-flow concept car in 2010, the Hyundai RN30 concept car in 2016 and the Kia EV3 Study Car in 2024. Based on the Kia EV3 platform, Study Car 2.0 advances the collaboration by applying end-of-life design considerations across a broader range of vehicle materials and within the seat architecture.