Composites Use in Automotive
Composites are used frequently in motorsports and lower volume, high-end/luxury vehicles, which typically favor continuous carbon fiber materials. They are also often used to fabricate exterior structures in racing vehicles, where their relative light weight provides speed and performance advantages over metals. Within mid- and high-volume production vehicles, common composite applications include glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) leaf springs, suspension components, and drive shafts, sheet molding compound (SMC) body panels and frames; bulk molding compound (BMC) housings and support structures; and injection-molded thermoplastics for bumper frames, lift gates and seat structures.
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HRC highlights automotive material innovation, scalable manufacturing and sustainable systems
The composites company is meeting the transition to electrification and vehicle lightweighting via hybrid monocoques, use of thermoplastic composites and carbon fiber and recycling.
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SPE honors Greg McCunn for 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award
McCunn is honored for his professional accomplishments and support of the thermoforming composites industry throughout his career in automotive and beyond.
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Dymag partnership advances carbon fiber wheel market reach
Collaboration between Dymag, Borbet and AIM Co. Ltd. aims to establish a robust, high-quality carbon fiber hybrid wheel supply solution for global automotive and motorcycle markets.
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Tata AutoComp, Katcon Global form strategic JV for composites
Joint venture in Mexico is to specialize in lightweight applications for passenger and commercial vehicles, agricultural tractors and more for the North America market.
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Hexagon Agility reaches milestone with additional orders supporting X15-N natural gas trucks
Additional natural gas fuel system orders at a value of $4.3 million include more than 20 Class 8 fleets.
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Ford Motor Q1 Award recognizes SGL Carbon GFRP leaf springs
SGL Carbon’s Austrian site has been identified by its years of serving the U.S. automotive manufacturer with quality composite products and efficient production.
Read MoreKnowledge Centers
Join us for insights into advanced bonding techniques and welding processes for composite materials to ensure durability and structural integrity.
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CompositesWorld’s CW Tech Days: Infrastructure event offers a series of expert presentations on composite materials, processes and applications that should and will be considered for use in the infrastructure and construction markets.
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Latest Automotive News And Updates
The new Slate truck costs less than $20,000, uses PP composite body panels
Stylish vehicle EV pickup model is supported by a simplified manufacturing process. It is also capable of customization from two seats to five seats.
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HRC’s holistic, closed-loop system supports composites recycling
HRC is addressing the management and repurposing of composites waste for automotive, aerospace and other industries.
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Porsche develops TABASKO method for lightweight vehicle series production
Patented carbon fiber-reinforced polypropylene tape-based process supports cost reduction, light weight and thinner walls without sacrificing rigidity.
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SPE ACCE 2025 brings in Casey Putsch as second keynote
Founder and president of the Genius Garage Educational Programs, as well as a car builder and YouTube personality, Putsch will deliver his own experience on how composites can contribute to the mass production of stylish and affordable vehicles.
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Quantum Fuel Systems, OneH2 develop 930-bar hydrogen tanks
High-pressure Type 4 cylinders are installed in hydrogen trailers with cascading function for simplified mobile refueling and gas distribution.
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HG Grimme CNC centers reduce ACE CFRP postprocessing setup
The switch to HG machining centers for the milling of automotive CFRP parts and structural components cuts setup time down from 40-45% to 2-3% and protects against dust generation.
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Featured Posts
Plasma moves beyond improved bonding to coatings, multifunctional composites
Plasmatreat cold plasma systems clean, activate surfaces and apply nanocoatings for dielectric barriers and more.
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ASCEND program completion: Transforming the U.K.'s high-rate composites manufacturing capability
GKN Aerospace, McLaren Automotive and U.K. partners chart the final chapter of the 4-year, £39.6 million ASCEND program, which accomplished significant progress in high-rate production, Industry 4.0 and sustainable composites manufacturing.
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Moving toward sustainable automotive parts manufacturing
How can the automotive supply chain prepare for future sustainability requirements? Tier 1 Kautex Textron discusses emissions reduction, design for circularity and transition to recycled/bio-based plastics.
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Composite bipolar plates provide 81% improvement to hydrogen fuel cell power density
Ultra-thin CFRTP plates developed by Hycco achieve a 7.5 kilowatt/kilogram power density, high durability for fuel cells in long-flight drone and heavy-mobility applications.
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Functionalizing surfaces for sustainability
Riblets reduce drag, fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and noise while boosting power output, flow rates, speed and efficiency.
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Pultruded CFRP chassis enables 36% payload increase for specialized commercial vehicles
CarbonTT’s quadraxial NCF composite chassis adds 185-kilogram capacity to Borco Höhns’ 3.5-ton Fiat Ducato market vehicle.
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FAQ: Automotive
How are composites used in automotive structures?
Within mid- and high-volume production vehicles, common composite applications include glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) leaf springs, suspension components, and drive shafts, sheet molding compound (SMC) body panels and frames; bulk molding compound (BMC) housings and support structures; and injection-molded thermoplastics for bumper frames, lift gates and seat structures.
As electric vehicles (EV) become more prevalent on the road and in development by automotive manufacturers, new opportunities exist for composites and composite materials development. For example, a lighter-weight, composites-intensive vehicle is likely capable of driving for a longer range between charges. Battery enclosures present one large market opportunity in the EV market.
Why use composites for electric vehicle (EV) battery enclosures?
As the automotive industry rapidly electrifies its fleets, interest is growing among OEMs and battery module producers in using composite materials for battery enclosures — covers and trays that hold and protect the frames and battery cells themselves.
There are many reasons for this, including the ability to reduce mass and stack tolerances, the fact that battery enclosures are multicomponent assemblies and poor impact performance of metals. In each of these areas, composite battery enclosures offer quantifiable benefits versus metals: lower mass, higher design freedom with greater space efficiency, faster assembly, no corrosion, greater durability and — with specific formulations — better flame resistance/fire containment.
Source: Price, performance, protection: EV battery enclosures, Part 1
