Applications in Focus How Plastics Are Redefining the Automobile

Lightweight, high-performance, and increasingly sustainable: Plastics enable innovative vehicle concepts and support OEMs and suppliers in their transition to climate-friendly mobility. The PlastXnow Mobility e-magazine highlights the materials and solutions that are already making a difference today.

Plastics in the automotive industry are at the heart of the mobility transition: lightweight construction, CO₂ reduction, electrification, and increasing sustainability requirements are fundamentally changing material choices. Whether structural parts, interior components, battery housings, or functionalized surfaces—modern polymer materials enable weight reduction, functional integration, and new design freedoms while maintaining high cost-effectiveness.

With the rise of electric mobility and stricter regulatory requirements, recycled materials, the circular economy, and resource-efficient material concepts are also becoming a greater focus for OEMs and suppliers. High-performance plastics are increasingly taking on safety-critical and structural roles in automotive manufacturing.

The new e-magazine PlastXnow Mobility (Box) highlights the latest developments in the automotive sector: from innovative material solutions and sustainable strategies to technological trends in processing and application. Industry experts, market analyses, and best practices demonstrate how plastics are playing a key role in shaping the future of the automotive industry.

Here's where plastics are used in automobiles

Plastics are widely used in automotive manufacturing and are incorporated into various components, including:

• Interior: Dashboards, center consoles, door panels, seat shells, trim components, air vents, and surfaces that combine tactile quality with functionality
• Exterior: bumpers, mirror housings, lighting components, wheel wells, underbody panels, and, increasingly, structurally critical parts made of fiber-reinforced plastic.
• Technical components: Cable jackets and connectors, housings for sensors and control units, as well as fuel lines, reservoirs, and tanks.

The use of plastics reduces the weight of vehicles, leading to better fuel efficiency and lower CO₂ emissions.

Commonly used plastics include:

• Polypropylene (PP): widely used in bumpers and interior components
• Polyurethane (PUR): used for seats and insulation materials
• Polyvinyl chloride (PVC): Used in cable jackets and door panels
• Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS): a durable material for handles and brackets
• Polyetheretherketone (PEEK): High-performance plastic for engine components and electrical parts 

Plastics used in the automotive industry must meet these requirements

In the automotive industry, plastics must meet a wide range of requirements in order to withstand demanding operating conditions. 

Here are some of the most important requirements:

• Mechanical Strength: The plastics must be strong enough to withstand the mechanical stresses that may occur during vehicle operation. This includes tensile and compressive strength, as well as resistance to abrasion and scratches.
• Temperature Resistance: The materials must be able to withstand extreme temperature conditions—both high temperatures in the engine compartment and low temperatures outdoors.
• Chemical Resistance: Plastics used in cars must be resistant to chemicals such as oil, fuel, brake fluid, and windshield washer fluid, which may come into contact with various components.
• Resistance to aging: The materials must remain durable throughout the vehicle's entire service life without significant deformation or deterioration of their properties. This applies in particular to UV resistance, in order to prevent damage caused by sunlight.
• Noise insulation: Plastics used in the interior are designed to provide sound insulation and reduce vibrations, thereby enhancing ride comfort.
• Safety Requirements: The materials must also meet safety requirements. In the event of an accident, they should deform in such a way that they do not cause any additional damage.
• Fire Safety: Many plastic components must be flame-retardant to prevent the spread of fire inside the vehicle in the event of a fire.
• Recyclability: Increasing attention is being paid to the recyclability of plastics in order to minimize environmental impact and comply with legal requirements for the vehicle recycling.

These requirements are essential for ensuring the functionality, safety, and efficiency of vehicles. The development of new materials and technologies aims to meet these requirements even more effectively and to further optimize the use of plastics in automotive manufacturing.

Benefits: Why Plastics Are Used in Cars

Plastics are used in automotive manufacturing for a variety of reasons that improve both the performance and fuel efficiency of vehicles. 

Here are the main advantages of plastics:

• Weight reduction: Plastics are lighter than metal, which helps reduce the vehicle's overall weight. Lighter vehicles have better fuel economy and lower CO₂ emissions.
• Cost-effectiveness: The manufacture and processing of plastics can be more cost-effective than those of metals. Plastics also allow for easy mass production of parts, which further reduces costs.
• Design flexibility: Plastics offer tremendous design freedom and enable the creation of complex shapes and functional designs that would be difficult to achieve with traditional materials.
• Corrosion resistance: Plastic parts are resistant to corrosion and rust, which is particularly valuable in high-humidity environments or when exposed to salts.
• Damping Properties: Plastics offer excellent damping properties that help reduce vibrations and noise, resulting in a quieter and more comfortable ride.
•  Insulating properties: They serve as both thermal and electrical insulators, which enhances safety and efficiency in various automotive applications, such as battery and cable jackets.
• Sustainability: Thanks to advanced technologies, plastics from vehicles can increasingly be recycled. This reduces the environmental footprint and promotes sustainable practices.
• Safety benefits: In the event of an accident, plastics can absorb energy and thereby cushion the impact. This increases occupant safety.
• Aesthetics and Comfort: Plastics are available in a wide range of colors and textures, creating an attractive look and high-quality surfaces in the interior. They also contribute to a pleasant feel.

In summary, plastics offer a versatile and cost-effective solution that contributes to the modernization and improvement of automobiles in many ways.

E-Magazine: PlastXnow Mobility

From lightweight construction to electromobility and closed-loop material cycles—the PlastXnow Mobility e-magazine showcases the many ways plastics are supporting the transformation of the automotive industry. Articles covering all areas of the value chain illustrate how cars are becoming lighter, more efficient, and more sustainable.

Preview: Excerpt from the Table of Contents
 

• Recycling in the Automotive Industry: A Closer Look at LFT Recyclates

• Overmolding of inserts: Producing products with high-quality covers on a “turnkey” basis

• Tooling for the Automotive Industry: How Pfaff Ensures the Quality of Complex Injection Molding Tools

• E-Mobility: How Overmolding Improves Battery Thermal Management

• SLM Relys on Sumitomo: “More Than Just a Business Relationship”

• Additive Manufacturing in Vehicle Interiors: Headrests Made from Printed Monomaterial
   

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You can find the PlastXnow Mobility e-magazine here (+).

Conclusion & Outlook

Plastics have become indispensable in today's automotive industry. Their light weight, high strength, and design flexibility make them the ideal material for a wide variety of applications.

And also the future looks promising. Ongoing research and development are focused on creating new, higher-performance plastics, some of which are bio-based or more easily recyclable. These innovations support the circular economy and reduce the automotive industry’s environmental footprint.

In addition, the versatility of plastics enables the integration of new technologies, such as sensors and displays, into vehicles, which is of great importance for autonomous and connected driving. Plastics also play a crucial role in the production of hydrogen tanks for fuel cell vehicles.