Large screens complicating GM's right-hand drive plans

While there are other obvious things, the screen remains one of the biggest things to consider.

According to reports, the biggest obstacle for converting cars from left to right-hand drive is the screens.

Lauren Indiveri-Clarke, Communications Director, GM International, said, "The screen is the biggest thing when it comes to left- and right-hand drive with the EVs [electric vehicles], it’s the screen and where that screen goes." However, it's not just in EVs where the screen is the problem, Lauren further stated, "It’s why we’re not getting [GMC] Tahoe, we’re getting Yukon instead because the screen is designed sort of in a way that can’t be shifted whereas [the] Yukon screen can be remanufactured."

However, she did confirm that while there are other obvious things, the screen remains one of the biggest things to consider. The carmaker needs to check whether the screen can be re-manufactured to fit in a right-hand drive setup.

The reports state how the Yukon gets a 16.8-inch portrait-oriented infotainment screen, which can be re-manufactured for right-hand drive markets. However, a Chevrolet Tahoe featuring a 17.7-inch landscape screen and notably angled towards the driver - clearly wasn't engineered to be a right-hand-drive vehicle.

Kevin Cansiani, Lead Development Engineer for the Cadillac Lyriq, stated, "EVs are a little bit easier [than combustion-powered vehicles] to switch the steering wheel side on."

Cansiani mentioned that there were no significant mechanical blockers in Cadillac's new Ultium-based electric SUVs. However, he did state, "We essentially have to redo the interior. The dash, we have to do some changes to the controls, to properly tell the body controller where the inputs are coming from, what’s really the driver versus the passenger. Then there’s some orientation of what’s behind the [instrument panel]. We do use the firewall to mount various things, whether it’s a ground cable, or a certain computer module etc. We just have to move them around, reorient them, and then the acoustics we have to go in and redesign to accommodate all the movement."

Source: CarExpert