JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #71 - March 2012 - 120

JCM 72 April: Asia Pacific Aero, Construction & Infrastructures

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Automotive:
Emerging countries take the lead

2011, a pivotal year for the automotive industry
In 2011, for the first time in history, emerging countries – led by China – will dominate world automotive production. Given the fierce competition, going global, diversifying, and adapting one’s production structures are a must for builders. In the race towards environmental performance, improvements to combustion engines, gradual adoption of electric cars, and vehicle weight reduction are a few of the solutions.

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n its October 2011 report “2011, a pivotal year for the automotive industry”, PwC forecasts that global production will grow by more than 8% from 2011 to 2012. The year 2011 is the tipping point when emerging countries, led by China, will have become the world’s leading automotive producers. In parallel, the European Union will start applying penalties in 2012 in relation to CO2 emission standards. Builders will have to keep up their efforts to comply with these environmental standards.

lightweight vehicles should grow an estimated 8.8% between 2011 and 2012, with an additional 6.7 million vehicles. “In 2011, for the first time in history, the number of vehicles produced by emerging markets will be greater than the number of vehicles produced by the mature markets. Nearly 57% of the growth in global production from 2010 to 2017 will originate in the Asia/Pacific region, including 38.6% from China alone, although this won’t much affect the Top 15 international builders,” observed Gérard Morin, in charge of the automotive sector for PwC France.

In 2011, emerging countries, with China in the lead, prevail in global production
Driven by heavy demand from the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), especially from China, global production of

Environmental performance
With the new European environmental regulations taking effect in early 2012, the race to envi-

approaches, the automotive industry has shown its awareness of the environmental challenge by improving the performance of combustion engines and doubling its The countries or regions that R&D efforts to develop electric and are heavy automotive consuhybrid vehicles. According to PwC mers have voted in laws to set Autofacts, by 2017, hybrid cars regulations on consumption will account for 4.1% of lightweight and greenhouse gas (GHG) vehicle production and electric cars, emissions, which is a sign of the for 1.0%,” said PwC Associate increasing awareness in the major François Jaumain. countries. There are several very obvious reasons for this, such as Starting in 2012, the penalties the foreseeable oil shortages or for CO2 emissions will target the health risks associated with all builders that sell passenger the constantly growing pollution vehicles in Europe. The penalties in urban zones, and other less have considerably encouraged obvious ones, such as the desire the development of new technoon the part of governments to logies to reduce emissions and increase their country’s energy therefore the fuel consumption independence – and therefore of new passenger vehicles. their political independence – Initial efforts, which have already with respect to other countries. begun, consist of making innoChina has set its limit for GHG vations to and optimizing the emissions at about 165 g of combustion engine, and working CO2/km, to be reached by 2015, extensively on the transmission, while the European Union, as these are aspects where buila crusader on environmental ders can still make a significant issues, is applying its regulations difference. Builders are aware, starting in January 2012 and will however, that just optimizing the lead on 2020 objectives, with its heat engine will not be enough to average emissions limit of 95 g meet the objectives. of CO2/ km. And while in 1995, there were hardly any vehicles in “As weight is a factor in the method Europe that emitted fewer than for calculating CO2 emission goals, it 120 g of CO2/km, the sales of is and will remain the spearhead for such vehicles in 2010 represent major innovations,” commented a third of total sales, surpassing Josselin Chabert, an automotive other categories for the first time. market analyst for Autofacts. n “As the deadline for implementing the strict CO2 emission standards More information: www.pwc.fr set by European authorities’

ronmental performance is on to improve combustion engines, gradually adopt electric cars, and reduce vehicle weight.

120 jec composites magazine / No71 March 2012
http://www.pwc.fr
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #71 - March 2012

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