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THE Australian-based global seat and interiors supplier at the heart of a quality issue that blighted Tesla Motors’ Model X launch has conceded the unconventional electric seven-seat vehicle – and in particular its radical seating design – was an ambitious project but stands by the integrity of its engineering.

Speaking publicly for the first time since the Model X was recalled in the United States in April to repair the third-row seats, Futuris Automotive managing director Mark De Wit has detailed the chain of events which led to the recall and remains confident the issue will in no way be a company breaker for the fast-growing supplier – in terms of its ongoing relations with Tesla and other global car-makers and EV start-ups.

He did admit, however, that the recall has overshadowed the innovative ‘monopost’ second-row seating arrangement that Futuris engineered and which, along with the gullwing rear doors, huge panoramic windscreen and a host of new technology, are key selling points of the vehicle – and sources of heartache.

Even Tesla admitted early in April – a week before the recall notice was issued – that its own “hubris in adding far too much new technology to the Model X in version one, insufficient supplier capability validation and … not having broad enough internal capability to manufacture the parts in-house” were root causes of parts shortages and delays in manufacturing.

“The Model X was a very ambitious project and the seating system was one of the more ambitious parts of the project,” Mr De Wit told GoAuto on his return last week to Melbourne, where the global supplier still has its head office and technical centre.

But it is the more conventional third-row seats which have attracted most attention, with testing conducted prior to European deliveries uncovering a problem with the seatback recliner. Some 2700 Model X vehicles were subsequently recalled in the US.

“We were testing all the way through and then, late in the program, we saw a failure,” Mr De Wit said. “There had been many successful tests before then.”

Ambitious: Futuris admits the Tesla Model X was an ambitious project, but the high-profile seat recall affected its third-row seat (from a Tier 2 supplier), not the radical ‘monopost’ second row.

Ambitious: Futuris admits the Tesla Model X was an ambitious project, but the high-profile seat recall affected its third-row seat (from a Tier 2 supplier), not the radical ‘monopost’ second row.

The test showed that, in a certain crash scenario, the seatbacks could become unlatched. The problem was the recliner mechanism, which failed before it reached its minimum design load.

“The recliner is not a Futuris design: we buy them in from a Tier 2 supplier. It is specced to meet a certain load requirement,” Mr De Wit said.

The recliner was not a new design for the Model X. The basic unit had been in production for some time before Futuris packaged it into the Model X’s third-row seat structure.

According to the Futuris chief, further testing showed that only a very small percentage of the recliners were not meeting their minimum design rating. By the time the problem was spotted, early deliveries had begun.

Mr De Wit said discussions were ongoing between Futuris, Tesla and the recliner supplier and insurers as to who would pick up the bill for the recall.

He emphasised that there was no way the issue was going to be a company breaker for Futuris, which is now owned by private equity fund Clearlake, but admitted the recall has overshadowed what should have been hailed as a major success for the global parts-maker – the design and manufacture of the Model X’s radical ‘monopost’ second-row seats all within an 18-month period.

Instead of running on two rails, each seat is supported by just one pillar, which disappears into the floor, where the motors and tracks are hidden. This provides unparalleled foot space for the third-row passengers and gives the cabin a more open and airy feel.

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Tesla Model X

“It’s what is called a monopost design and the technology in it is astounding,” Mr De Wit said.

While it is hard enough to develop a seat supported by a single post rather than two rails, the design of the Model X second row was made more difficult by dispensing with the regular seatbelt arrangements.

Instead of anchoring each lap-sash belt system with three mounting points on the floor and/or roof, the belts were to be anchored to the seat itself.

“It’s called all belts to seat (ABTS) and it is not the norm,” Mr De Wit said. “It’s difficult to do because of the enormous loads that can be fed into the seat structure and the post supporting it.”

It was a major engineering feat to get it right, requiring the use of high-strength steels and novel manufacturing techniques.

First, the steel cannot be cut in the usual fashion. Futuris has to use laser cutters. Then, to form that into the required shape, the steel has to be hot-stamped because cold stamping would cause it to crack.

“The outcome is amazing,” Mr De Wit said. “It looks incredible in the Model X. Mr Musk (Tesla CEO Elon Musk) said he wanted the falcon-wing doors to open and reveal the seats to be works of art, and they are.”

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Mr De Wit dismissed reports that Tesla has decided to produce the seats in-house after the recall caused by the recliner issue.

“What happened, and this is well before the Model X went into production, was that Tesla decided to bring the just-in-time part of the seat production into the Fremont plant,” he said.

“Futuris used to be located inside the plant but has since moved to its own premises in the San Francisco suburb of Newark.”

Tesla will now be responsible for fitting the foam padding, seat covers and external plastic parts to the seats. Futuris makes the seat covers in its Mexican and Thailand plants and makes the seat frames in California, complete with motors, heating elements and other internal parts.

Mr De Wit said the new arrangement gives Tesla more flexibility when fulfilling customer orders and allows it to get customised versions out the door more quickly. The downside is that Tesla, which plans to deliver between 80,000 and 90,000 vehicles across its range this year, has to carry more seat covers in stock so it can be ready for any eventuality.

Futuris also supplies the seats for the Model S large prestige sedan. Mr De Wit would not confirm if the company is currently in talks with Tesla to supply the all-new forthcoming mid-size Model 3, which has generated a massive response worldwide – including around 373,000 reservations – since order books opened a couple of months ago.

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His opinion was that the Model 3 would likely have more conventional seats, echoing Tesla’s confirmation that the new model – to be priced from $US35,000 ($A47,320) – will have advanced technology but will be kept “relatively simple to build at high volume and with high quality”.

“If it’s a tight launch program, it would be better to stick with traditional approaches,” he said.

Futuris will also supply two other start-up electric vehicle companies based on the west coast of the US, although Mr De Wit is wary about making too many large financial commitments to any of the nascent projects.

He would not name the companies Futuris is talking to, but did list the companies which have signalled their intentions to start making electric vehicles or are considering such a project. They are Faraday, Google, Apple, Atieva, NextEV, Karma and SF Automotive.

“Start-up companies present a bigger risk. It’s a matter of Futuris balancing its risk portfolio and putting its funding eggs in the appropriate baskets,” Mr De Wit said.

By Ian Porter

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