The automotive world of the aging society in the future

By Jeff Lee / Mike Song 2022-11-04

In the era of traditional cars, elders hadn’t always been the “target consumers” for carmakers… Because when speaking of terms such as power, handling, acceleration, these things about the characters of cars can only be exerted by the drivers’ reflex and concentration, which are far away from the elders. However, when the automotive new technologies come, the driving skill will no longer be that important as before, and even as the era of autonomous driving comes, it doesn’t matter anymore. Elders can enjoy the “performances” of the automotive new technologies just like the young people, and they might own dedicated car models.

The longevity of human gradually increased due to factors including medicine, food supply, economy, living environment, and the prosperity of technology, etc., In the past, people are commonly considered old after the age of 65; as for now, it might be higher in advanced countries; for instance, Japan society recognizes people older than 70 as elders. Furthermore, regarding the standard of driving ability regulated by the law of Taiwan, only people older than 75 must renew driving licenses by taking another examination. That is to say, when general public gradually begin retiring from the workplaces at about 60, they will have at least more than 10 years to drive around freely by themselves. As the percentage of retired people or elders getting higher among the drivers on roads, then the traffic safety will absolutely become a big issue, which is not only a challenge but also a new business opportunity for the car design and new technologies.

Is there going to be dedicated cars for the elders in the future? I assumed the possibility is high. Actually, there are welcabs modified from vans, so that the disable elders have elevator seats for the ease of entrance, or wheelchairs can be directly pushed into the cargo compartment then to be fixed with seat belts. However, these cars are just modified but not “dedicated”; furthermore, these cars are designed for the elder occupants, but do they take elder drivers into consideration? I knew an 86-year-old man who drive with his wife for outdoor activities every morning, and it’s inconvenient for the ingress and egress of the small driver’s seat, not to mention the risk of driving will absolutely be increased due to the insufficient agility of their hands and feet. Cars designed for the elders in the future should be classified as two categories…

 

  • Elders as drivers. The functions are comprehensive in L2 driver assistance that includes the connected activation between DMS and L2, as L2 can retake control of the cars as soon as drivers are under abnormal driving situation.
  • Elders as occupants. In this situation, if it’s a “non-autonomous driving” vehicle, then the current design of welcab can meet the actual demands; if it’s an “autonomous driving” vehicle, as there is no driver’s seat, the layout inside the cabin can be easier to take consideration of the convenience of entrance and the ride comfort for the elders or the disabled people. For instance, the doors can be backward-opening type, seats can be folded by electric control, or the seats can be reclined as the seats of the airplane, etc., These designs can actually meet the demands for family outing, which absolutely have business values.

 Aging society will be the big trend around the world; as the implementation of automotive new technologies, the elders can go travelling on their own, and they can even have more disposable savings than young people to purchase high-end autonomous driving vehicles to enjoy the most advanced technologies. For carmakers, there will be a new business opportunity of cars dedicated for the elders to give the elders more freedom of mobility.