2024 Application of composite materials in the automotive field
Composite materials have long offered advantages to automotive exterior, structural and even some interior components, such as weight reduction and the ability to form complex shapes. Composites have been popular in the development of racing cars that focus on weight reduction to improve performance, as well as in luxury cars that are low-volume and benefit from the beautiful texture of carbon fiber.
In the higher-volume commercial vehicle sector, these materials also have a variety of applications, but the speed of application is relatively slow, because the raw materials used for carbon fiber or glass fiber composites are more expensive than metal alternatives, and the production process has never been suitable for small batch production.
However, Allied Market Research (Wilmington, Delaware), a division of Allied Analytics LLP (Portland, Oregon, USA) that provides comprehensive market research and business consulting, has released a 2023-2032 automotive composites market report that predicts, By 2032, revenues in the automotive composites industry will double.
According to the forecast, the development of battery electric vehicles and their growth in sales will drive the increase in the application of automotive composite materials. As automakers seek to offset the extra weight of larger battery packs to reduce vehicle assembly mass and extend range per charge, electric vehicles offer many opportunities for lightweight using composite materials.
According to Allied Market Research, as the production technology of composites moves towards faster processes, such as resin transfer molding (RTM) molding processes, composites will become a more competitive option for high volume applications, which will also enable the expected industry growth.