By Isabelle Robinson, M.Sc.May 28 2018.jpg)
Image Credit:Shutterstock/NemanjaCosovic
Introduction
In 2018, there are many groundbreaking environmental trends in the automotive industry. The main trends involve car sharing and the electric car.
The first major trend in renewable energy is the crossover vehicle. New vehicles are a mix of regular Sedans and SUV’s making them a practical way to commute while also being stylish. The SUV is known to be fuel efficient as well as cost effective and versatile. This car is becoming popular and is also helping the environment by cutting CO2 emissions.
3D-Printed Cars
As mentioned previously, car sharing is providing less traffic on the roads and is one of the biggest trends of the coming year. Experts have discovered that over the past few years, the public has significantly reduced their emotional attachment to cars. It is predicted that by 2030, one out of every ten cars will be a shared vehicle.
Shared vehicles are better for the environment as it reduces the number of cars on the road, and, in turn, reduces the carbon emissions of the automotive industry. It should be noted that this trend has already been taken advantage of by companies such as the ride-share app, Uber.
The automotive industry is changing the way that vehicles are manufactured. Major car manufacturers, such as Local Motors, have developed 3D printing technology for the creation of 3D printed cars. The hope is that the 3D printed cars will be more cost-effective than a traditionally manufactured cars and uses less material.
This means that there is less material waste from the manufacturing process and therefore is more sustainable as an industry.
Electric and Autonomous Vehicles
In addition to this, there has been a recent push in electric car sales. Since 2016, approximately 10 million electric cars have been sold. This is believed to be a direct result of the decreasing amount of non-renewable materials, such as gas and oil, as well as government legislation which demands the use of electric cars in the near future. It is expected that in 2018, electric car sales will increase to 5% of the UK market and up to 12% in the USA market.
On of the most exciting tends for 2018 is the autonomous vehicle. While the fully automated systems have yet to be perfected, major companies are developing their own version of the technology and are likely to test the in 2018.
There are many environmental benefits to autonomous vehicles including reduced traffic and optimized braking systems which both lead to a reduction in CO2 emissions. In addition to this, driverless cars offer increased passenger comfort and reduce the amount of road accidents.
Cloud Technology
Lastly, this year the automotive industry has embraced cloud technology. By using this innovative technology, Industry 4.0 has restructured the design, manufacturing process and operation of its projects.
This enables the production line to reduce waste and therefore become more sustainable. It also helps reduce the manufacturing cost per vehicle, meaning that this trend is more appealing to larger companies. It is thought that the use of the cloud in the engineering and production of vehicles will become more and more prevalent over the coming year.
This story is reprinted from material from technavio.com, with editorial changes made by Azo Network. The original article can be found here.
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