Foldaway seats are the next big thing

Electrically folding rear seats that collapse at the touch of a button are the next big thing in versatile car interiors.

That's the view of Keiper, a group that's part of seat specialist Recaro, which says it's working on the technology already.

"They will be on production cars within two or three years," said a Keiper spokesman.

What's holding the experts back is not being able to get powerful enough motors small enough to fit inside the seat structure, so that they can't be felt by the person sitting on it.

"Ultimately, the idea would be to have a button on your car's keyfob that you could push once to open the door and again to move the seat," the spokesman said.

"If you've got arms full of shopping that would be great."

He also said engineers were working on smarter front seats, to help boost access to the rear bench in a three-door car.