Vehicles of the Future will Be Lightweight – A Effort Still in the Works for the Consumer
Vehicles of the Future will Be Lightweight – A Effort Still in the Works for the Consumer Vehicle mass reduction or light weighting is an important concept pursued by the automakers since the dawn of the automotive industry. Light weighting has many benefits including better acceleration, increased fuel economy, reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, better handling, etc. Vehicle performance is sensitive to the power to weight (P/W) ratio. Therefore, reducing weight while keeping the power constant can drastically improve performance. Also, the fuel economy is improved if the P/W ratio is maintained by reducing power and weight concurrently. Automakers often find a middle ground between improving performance and fuel economy. The arrival of Automated, Connected, Electric, and Shared (ACES) vehicles and global regulations on GHG emissions will put more pressure on automakers to design lightweight vehicles since ACES technology can add significant weight to the vehicles. For example, a vehicle with 10 gallons of fuel on board weighs an additional 63 pounds, and it gradually drops that weight as the fuel is combusted. A battery electric vehicle (BEV) battery pack may contain 100 kWh of energy and weigh 1400 pounds. Other components that may add weight include sensors, thermal management system, sensor cleaning system, comfort and infotainment features, redundant parts for safety, etc. The added weight needs to be compensated by light weighting other vehicle components to maintain performance. A vehicle has more than 15,000 major parts. Selecting parts for light weighting depends on various factors such as mass reduction impact, manufacturability, vehicle crash sensitivity, cost, supply chain robustness, etc. The roof subsystem is deemed very important by automakers to achieve vehicle light weighting targets. Light weighting the roof lowers the vehicle’s center of gravity which improves its handling. The roof subsystem includes several crash sensitive structural components and also an A-class surface which provides an opportunity for mixed-material applications. If you called your local dealer would they have more Information about this from their manufacturer? If so that is who you need to do business with.Make it a champion day! Brandon K. Hardison Champion Strategies
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