Here's the car-seat every mom and dad needs

SHANGHAI, China - The Volvo design team has completely re-imagined how children could travel safely in cars in the future, well at least the children of wealthy or stylish parents.

The move follows the Shanghai reveal of Volvo's  XC90 excellence and the Lounge Console Concept.

Tisha Johnson, chief designer for car interiors at Volvo Cars' concept and monitoring centre, explained: "We started by asking ourselves if we could make life easier for parents and safer for their children when it comes to the child seat experience and focused on three key benefits."

Three key benefits of the excellence car-seat concept:

 •  Easier access to get the child in and out of the car-seat
 •  Rear-facing seating position for the child to be in eye contact with the driver or the rear passenger
 •  Storage for baby accessories - nappies, bottles, wet-wipes etc

VIDEO: Volvo revolutionises car-seat concept

Johnson says the idea originated in a conversation with Volvo boss Li Shufu when he reviewed the Lounge Console Concept in early 2015 and thought about how else the space left by removing a front passenger seat could be used. The design team took on the challenge and in the process re-imagined the way in which small children can travel, safely.

SWIVEL ACCESS

The concept enables the parent to swivel the seat counter-clockwise when seating the child and then lock the seat in a rearward facing position. The concept also provides storage for small items beside the seat and a storage space underneath for diapers, blankets, or other larger items and enough space for a tote bag at the front of the seat under the dashboard.

The child seat concept, which also provides a function to help small children safely lean back and sleep, adheres to the firms safety position; that small children should travel rearward facing as long as possible (at least up to the age of three or four).

This is primarily due to the lack of muscular strength in the necks of small children and the disproportionate head size and weight in relation to the body.

Johnson concluded: "We have taken the next step in redefining how the interior of a car can be used to suit our customers' needs. We have always placed a great deal of importance on child safety, but this takes things to the next level."

EASY ACCESS: The Volvo car-seat concept allows the driver and rear passengers access to the car seat because of its swivel function. Image: Volvo