Is the trend of automobile lightweight development "substituting plastic for steel"?

In October 2016, the China Automotive Engineering Society issued the road map for energy saving and new energy vehicles. The road map points out that by 2020, 2025 and 2030, the vehicle quality will be 10%, 20% and 35% less than that of 2015. For car prices, car lightweight is increasingly practical significance, and for the entire automotive industry, it is the general trend. In many light materials, car plastic low-key upper, "plastic instead of steel" will be a lightweight car development trend.

Lightweight automobile is to guarantee the automobile body strength, stiffness, modal and collision performance under the premise of reducing the overall weight of the car as soon as possible, so as to improve the power and safety of vehicles, reduce fuel consumption and reduce exhaust pollution. In light of the application of lightweight materials, this means that automotive lightweight is not Jerry built, but rather an upgrade of the material itself.

From the specific gravity, the lightweight plastic effect is the best, it can be described as the preferred lightweight automotive materials. The use of plastic can reduce parts and components about 40% of the weight, the car's power, comfort and safety can be improved.

Foreign automotive brands are now using high performance engineering plastics and plastic composites on a large scale. Future automotive doors, roofs, seat components, hubs, and automotive structures, and even bodywork, may switch to engineering plastics. The production of fiber reinforced composite plastic material body and the steel body can be reduced compared to 35%; if the use of carbon fibre reinforced composite material, can be reduced by more than 60%.

With the rise and development of the automotive industry, the demand for automotive engineering plastics in China is also increasing rapidly. Under the fuel economy regulations continue to tighten, the battery prices remain high under the background, lightweight has become one of the important development trend of the traditional internal combustion engine vehicles and new energy vehicles. The plastic and composite materials is the most important automobile lightweight material quality, it not only can reduce about 40% of parts, but also can make the purchase cost is reduced by about 40%, so in recent years the amount of rapid rise in automobile.

Many parts of the car, such as bumpers, wheels, plates, dashboard, door panels, knobs, and even engine hoods, intake systems, etc., all use plastics as raw materials. With the strengthening of energy-saving emission reduction and safety performance requirements, the lightweight design of cars has also been common, "plastic instead of steel" the importance of the embodiment of the most incisive.