Product development for retained newness with focus on cleanability and durability

Abstract

Abstract "Retained newness" can simplistically be described as: the grade of how well a products original attributes that generate the perception of new are preserved over time. In an attempt to use a car designed for conventional use in a car sharing service the term is of relevance for the consumer service satisfaction, market value of product and cost of maintenance. A car in a sharing service in comparison to a car in conventional use has an elevated frequency of use, which entails elevated scratching & abrasive wear, soiling in particle form and soiling in liquid form. The relevant attributes of a product is thereby the cleanability & durability, by an exploratory study the correlation with retained newness is de ned. Furthermore the exploration continues by de ning parameters & variables of interest and materials & technologies with sought for properties. The knowledge gained in the exploration is used in a case study of a lower cover, by using the generic product development process the main output is concepts of interest for implementation in a sharing service. The winning concept entailing the addition of a modular feature that protects the lower cover from the exposure that implies decline in product appearance. As a nal part of the project some interesting solutions are assessed through proof of concept testing. These being protective lms & coatings, the major conclusion is that they can be of relevance, but there is an inherent decline in product appearance that is hard to overcome . Finally, the result is presented which contains a design guideline and proposal on updates to requirements & testing methods of today. The design guideline will help engineers re ect over the possibilities, since conclusively designing for this purpose concerns many disciplines. Furthermore, to validate design choices, among other both testing & requirements needs to re ect reality to a higher degree.