Ford's Allergy Friendly Interiors

An estimated 80 million people throughout Europe suffer from some form of allergy, with Spring being a particularly hard time for sufferers.

Ford's vehicle development team recognise this issue and as such go to great lengths to make their cars allergy friendly. The new Ford C-MAX and Ford Grand C-MAX have been granted the "Allergy Tested Interior" seal of Approval by Germany's TUV Rheinland testing authority.

Ford is the only manufacture with vehicles which have been certified by TUV. The company has also been awarded the Quality Certificate by the Berlin-based European Centre for Allergy Research Foundation.

"We want to give our customers the best vehicle design, performance and quality, and the best passenger environment. That is why we are doing all we can to avoid or reduce to the absolute minimum all materials and substances that may pose an allergic risk," said Caspar Dirk Hohage, engineering director, Ford of Europe. "We are the only vehicle manufacturer in the world with cars that are independently verified and certificated as allergy-tested by the TUV.

The five seater Ford C-MAX and seven seater Ford Grand C-MAX joins the list of TUV certified Ford models, which includes the Ford Fiesta, the outgoing Focus, S-MAX, Galaxy, Mondeo and Kuga. Nearly 4.5 million Ford cars currently on the road are certified by TUV.

Typically, Ford tests more than 100 materials and components for allergy issues. In addition, all components that have direct and prolonged skin contact - such as the steering wheel and seat covers - are dermatologically-tested. Ford vehicles are also equipped with a high-performance pollen filter to prevent allergic pollens from entering the vehicle.

Ford engineers avoid or minimise the use of materials such as latex, chrome and nickel, which can trigger an allergic reaction in some people.

TUV certification officially confirms that interior materials used in the new Ford C-MAX models were specifically selected to minimise the risk of allergies for passengers and is only achieved after extensive and scientifically-verifiable tests for harmful substances and allergy-causing agents are carried out as part of the TUV assessment process.