PDR wins German Innovation Award 2023 for Cercle

Cercle has been recognised as an industry advancement by winning the German Innovation Award in the category of Excellence in Business to Consumer for Transport.

About the German Innovation Award

The German Innovation Awards 2023 had entries from over 20 countries, aimed at rewarding those companies who focus on using the latest thinking and innovation excellence to contribute to a better future. The Awards honour those goods and services that stand out for their user-centricity and added value over competing products and solutions. Excellence in Business to Consumer, Excellence in Business to Business, and Design Thinking are among the award categories.

About Cercle

Cercle is an automotive steering wheel that uses a fully circular economy design approach without sacrificing the driver experience. It is easy to disassemble and recycle at the end of its life while incorporating complex controls and haptic feedback into a traditional aesthetic and high-quality control surface. It has been designed from the start with significant user benefits in mind.

Cercle is the result of extensive research and development programmes involving multiple European partners to address the issue of current steering wheel designs not being recyclable. On-board steering wheel controls are standard, and the next generation of vehicles will likely require even more integrated electronics and haptic feedback capabilities to improve the driver experience. As a result, the intelligence and complexity of what is a key touchpoint of any vehicle have increased, adding to the challenges of recycling.

As 2022 drew to a close, we were honoured to have been awarded an iF Design Award and a Gold German Design Award for Cercle - and this year’s German Innovation Award is another fantastic achievement for a product we’re incredibly proud of.

“Cercle represents a significant step forward in design adopting a more environmentally-conscious approach for what historically is a very challenging area in automotive interior design and another marker of PDR’s growing expertise in answering applied, real world sustainable design challenges. Jarred Evans, Director at PDR, said. “Our team worked so hard on producing this revolutionary product and it’s a fitting tribute that it has picked up numerous awards in recognition of its excellence.”

“We’re amongst a brilliant cohort of winners pioneering innovative design, and to count ourselves among them is a fantastic accolade.”

Next Steps

Find out more about PDR’s award-winning work - or to start your own project, get in touch.