Of immediate concern to both the automotive industry and the Government is the environmental degradation caused by vehicular emissions. Burning of fossil fuels in automobiles with the attendant emission of carbon into the atmosphere continues unabated. It has been well chronicled that a 10 per cent reduction in the vehicle weight improves fuel efficiency by 7 per cent. Use of aluminium, magnesium and composite materials for castings, joining high strength steel to aluminium or further reduction in weight of parts already made from aluminium are some of the means by which vehicle weight can be reduced substantially. The need for reduction in weight of vehicles thus needs no emphasis.
At the global level, vehicle OEMs, material suppliers and R&D institutes are constantly working on newer methods for achieving cost-effective lightweighting solutions for the mass market. Also, there have been an increasing number of awareness programmes being organised by the automotive-related associations. Plastics being the key to weight reduction, the question before the industry is, ‘how much and how far’. Within plastics, PP composite material is today considered the lightest. The use of plastics in vehicles is projected to grow from 74 kg per car body today to 100 kg in 2017. Similarly, PP penetration is expected to rise from 36 kg per car to 52 kg during the period.
Many companies focus specifically on plastics external painted parts while dividing the weight saving approach from being online or offline in the context of the OEM. The technical approach to weight saving was classified as raw material substitution, function integration, systems engineering and plastic high-performance components. It has been further observed that material sciences play a major role here along with technologies. The indications are clear that newer developments in material and compounding have necessitated further increase in the use of plastics and its technologies in the auto industry.