Kaysun Blog

By 2024 the need for automotive plastics, parts, and innovations will push the value of the automotive plastics market to a projected $50 billion.¹

As for the proliferation in the use of plastic, electric car sales and improvements undoubtedly contribute but they are not the sole cause. Traditional automobile manufacturers have also largely adopted a plastics-first mindset when it comes to certain design, engineering, and production best practices. 

Precision automotive plastic components aren’t limited to sleek dashboards, seats, floor mats, and other components that attract buyers. These features may provide a degree of protection, but a vehicle’s overall safety and performance are largely dictated by often unseen under-the-hood plastic car parts.

With a stunning 75% of automotive manufacturers reporting business interruption caused by the COVID-19 shutdown of non-essential businesses, many are taking a hard look at the impact of supply chain globalization¹. More specifically, automotive OEMs are either proactively reshoring or planning to reshore to protect their supply chains — and businesses — from the  political and economic fallout created by the pandemic.

Federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards coupled with heightened consumer sensitivities to the environmental impact of using fossil fuels are tightening fuel consumption requirements for the auto industry.

Worldwide, sales of electric vehicles rose by 73% in 2018 — a banner year by any measurement, but all the more remarkable given it followed sales growth of 86% in 2017. The sales figures are more than impressive; they reflect a shift in consumer demand for affordable, eco-friendly transportation options and the bellwether of change in the automotive industry.

When engineering-grade resins were introduced in the 1950s, some auto manufacturers were unfamiliar with the benefits of metal-to-plastic conversion, i.e. how to design plastics into products, and how to manufacture with plastics. Today this practice, also known as “lightweighting,” is becoming increasingly popular with automakers as they race to comply with a federal mandate calling for automobiles to average 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.

In 2012, President Obama finalized standards to increase fuel efficiency in cars and light-duty trucks to nearly 55 mpg by model year 2025, with the aim of saving Americans more than $1.7 trillion at the gas pump and reducing U.S. oil consumption by 12 billion barrels.

While there are several ways to meet this mandate, reducing the car’s weight is one of the best – and easiest – ways to improve fuel economy without impacting other design and safety factors. That's why many automakers are rethinking production and using custom injection molded plastic components instead of metal assemblies. 

Plastic automotive components can be susceptible to rework, rejection, and budget-breaking increases in total cost of production if the parts used contain molding defects. Often injection molding defects evidence themselves during end product review — when it could be too late for a remedy.

The automotive industry is experiencing rapid advancements, some of which have been brought about by federal regulations and others as a result of manufacturers leveraging opportunities presented by new materials and technologies.