JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #102 - January/February 2016 - 21

In contrast to the NEDC, the WLTP
procedure will take into account a mass
including options. Moreover, the masses
added to include passenger weight and
vehicle load will increase.
- A new CO2 target value will be defined
to take into account the CO2 increase
induced by the new cycle. A conversion
factor between the NEDC target value
and the WLTP target value will be
defined.
From 1990 to 2012, the mass of the
vehicles produced and/or sold in
Europe increased continuously (except
in 2009, due to the crisis), from an average mass a little over 1000 kilos in 1990
to a little less than 1400 kilos in 2012,
i.e. an increase of around 40%.
During the same period, the automotive
industry as a whole continuously vowed
that it had the solid and firm intent to
reduce the weight of vehicles, and it
acted accordingly.
Many works were conducted, many
R&D programmes were launched and
completed successfully, and many new
lighter and more efficient automotive
systems were developed.

Fig. 2: C02 against masses for vehicles sold in Europe in 2014

Fig. 3: Weight evolution from 1990 to 2015

models sold in Europe during a given
year (in general the year preceding the
current year) is constructed.
Each homologated model is represented
by one dot and the corresponding trend
curve is plotted.
The advantage of this methodology is
that it takes into account a large number
of models, and it eliminates the need
to compare two vehicles with the same
characteristics.
Inovev considers that a 100 kg weight
reduction results in an 8.5-10 g/km reduction in C02 emissions.
It should be noted that all these methods

are based on measurements carried out
according to the NEDC test, which was
created in 1973. This test will be replaced
in 2017, with the implementation of the
Euro 6c standards based on a new testing
process (WLTP), a new cycle (WLTC)
and a real driving emission (RDE) test.
The CO2 saving per 100 kg may vary
with these new tests, in particular for the
following two reasons:
- The definition of mass will change: the
NEDC test procedure allows the mass
of the lightest vehicle model version to
be used for CO2 compliance testing, that
is, the vehicle version that does not have
any optional equipment on board.

However, factors resulting in a weight
increase - such as improved safety,
environmental protection, comfort
and convenience for the driver and the
passengers - have more than offset the
efforts deployed. Cars were reinforced
and many new functions added.
In 2013, 2014 and 2015, the average
mass of cars declined for the first time
in Europe (see Figure 3).

Contribution of CFRP
to weight reductions
Given their positioning versus the new
2021 targets and the need to combine
all the available ways to reduce the
CO2 emissions of their cars, premium
German carmakers decided to start
producing cars containing a significant
amount of CFRP. At the same time,
both German and French carmakers
launched or supported research projects
to integrate CFRP into their cars at the

No102 January - February 2016 /

jec composites magazine 21
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #102 - January/February 2016
