There has been a lot of change in the automotive industry since that time. The cars of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s were almost entirely made of metal elements and contained only 3% plastic materials. Today, the percentage of plastic in a car has increased to over 15% in a typical passenger car.
Why is more and more plastic being used in a car?
Plastics are synthetic substances derived from petroleum, these substances have the peculiarity of achieving the plastic state of materials, hence their name. Plastics are also called polymers, which means that they consist of multiple monomers, for example PP(polypropylene), PE(polyethylene), PC(polycarbonate), PA(PA6 and PA66).
There are addition polymers such as bumpers which are made of PP+EPDM (Polypropylene Propylene Ethylene Propylene Diene Molybdenum Reinforced Polymer), PP+ABS, PP+GF, and so on.
Other unseen or structural plastic parts such as air conditioning ducts are made of PP with Talc, wheel arches or mudguards of PP with EPDM, radiator support or front end in PP GF30 or in other premium brand models in PA6 GF30. While other parts such as electrical connections in PA and/or PBT, aesthetic grilles in ABS or ABS/PC require more demanding finishes and specifications. In addition, the trend is for automotive brands (OME’s) to be able to apply 50% recycled materials. This will put pressure on prices and requirements in the medium term in the automotive industry.
Even so, there is the great subject of Eco Design, which is still not applied today and this makes it difficult to dismantle, separate and recycle the materials that make up the different parts of a vehicle.
Use of plastic materials in the manufacture of automobiles
Steel, a commonly used material, is replaced by other materials to create certain parts that are increasingly in demand and for which recycled plastic is often chosen as the most suitable material. The components that are kept in mind when designing a vehicle evolve all the time, exactly the same as the materials used, now that they give original technical peculiarities and applications.
New plastics or the optimisation of already existing plastics through additives and compositions, as well as the technology of their transformation, increase the number of uses of recycled plastics every day, not only for the automotive industry, but also for many articles in other fields such as construction, household, textile/shoes.
