It is also possible that he used a palanquin instead of riding on horseback in order to demonstrate that he was given exception by the Ashikaga Shogun family and permitted to use a palanquin due to their close relationship (the Imagawa family was a branch of the Ashikaga Shogun family), meaning that he rode a palanquin in battle in order to make an appeal of it.
騎乗せず、輿に乗っていたことも、義元は足利将軍家との親密な関係（今川家は足利将軍家の分家）から特別に輿に乗る事を認められており、むしろ合戦の際も輿に乗る事はそのアピールと言う面があった。