With new international ownership, StyleRide is putting its latest designs into revolutionary new models.
The change towards zero-emissions products has also hit seating manufacturers like StyleRide. At its Expo stall, StyleRide displayed a variety of new seating models that were designed to fit on electric buses. StyleRide Australia managing director Garrin Angel says making the seats as light as possible remains critical to catering to the industry’s electric turn.
“A lot of our research and design is currently going into new ways of developing lightweight applications,” Angel told ABC. “While doing this, we also ensure we don’t compromise the safety aspects of the seats in any way.
“We invest heavily in compliances to make sure we have the safest product on the road. Our investigation is ongoing into new technology that combines weight reduction with safety.”
Angel says StyleRide’s latest seat is primed for a successful 2023. The seat is an ultra-lightweight model that is designed specifically to support electric vehicles.
“With this seat we’re down to around seven kilograms per passenger in a single seat,” Angel says. “This exciting technology was designed in conjunction with our parent company Lazzerini.
“We use their technology to create these innovative seats before designing and assembling them here in Australia.”
Angel says StyleRide’s recent partnership with Lazzerini has taken the company’s operations to a new level. In March 2019, Italian manufacturer Lazzerini acquired StyleRide to merge the high quality designs of StyleRide with the product innovation of Lazzerini.
For some companies, an acquisition may derail momentum. Fortunately, Angel says StyleRide’s involvement with Lazzerini is already providing rewards.
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“StyleRide is an Australian made company with a 25-year history that we’re celebrating this year,” Angel says. “The change in ownership in 2019 has been immensely positive.
“We’ve been able to build better structures and we now boast the support of a large Italian manufacturer that allows us to invest heavily in the Australian market.”
The many seats on display at StyleRide’s stand include the tried and true touring range, alongside products for school buses, tour and charter vehicles, as well as the silhouette model.
Angel says the latter has taken the particular interest of businesses transporting older customers, as the model allows passengers more room to see around their seat and look through windows.
“The seats we’ve designed cover two areas in allowing for modular application while giving owners the flexibility to do what they want with our products,” Angel says. “We are also showing our school range here, including the Solutions 2-3 model.”
Alongside the continued investment in lightweight products for electric buses, StyleRide will also use its recently opened manufacturing centre in Queensland to focus on the reviving tour and coach sector in Australia.
“We are emphasising our approach towards the luxury coach seat market,” Angel says. “Tour and coach went quiet during COVID, but we know it’ll now be coming back because Australia is a country that moves so many people in coaches.
“We’ve got this front and centre in our approach. Technology has shifted a long way, so we’ll be specialising in both the electric seat and the luxury coach seat to remind everyone we’ve come back quickly.”