Glasgow firm makes life easier for drivers of wheelchair-accessible vehicles

Allied Vehicles Group, the Glasgow-based manufacturer, has been granted a European patent pending award for a new seat design for wheelchair-accessible vehicles.
Greg Barnar is one of Allieds design engineers. Picture: ContributedGreg Barnar is one of Allieds design engineers. Picture: Contributed
Greg Barnar is one of Allieds design engineers. Picture: Contributed

The firm, which supplies some 6,000 vehicles a year, has developed a seat that is said to maximise access and has secured the patent pending to protect its invention for the Peugeot Horizon, the UK’s best-selling wheelchair-accessible vehicle.

The new design works by initially tipping the back of the seat forward and then detaching it at the floor. This then allows the seat to simply fold away as it rotates and locks in at the front of the vehicle, creating far more space for the wheelchair user, Allied said.

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Design engineer Greg Barnard said: “This has been a real team effort with support from every member of the engineering team. It has been over a year of work from when we first identified the problem to getting the ‘tip and tumble’ seat design in place and we are really happy with the results.”

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