Credit: Charged EVs
Weight is the enemy of acceleration, handling, braking & economy in a vehicle.
For this reason, manufacturers invest a substantial effort in weight reduction. Perhaps the most obvious method of weight reduction is choice of structural materials. Steel is the major structural material of most vehicles because of cost.
Carbon fibre is both lighter & stronger than steel. It also more expensive, because of the labour-intensive methods used in its production.
Carbon fibre is extensively used in racing cars & aircraft. BMW has made extensive use of carbon fibre in its i3 electric vehicle & i8 extended-range electric performance car.
Before carbon fibre can be more widely used, however, price must be reduced. Essentially, this means elimination of the expensive manual component. I.e. automation.
Klaus Drechsler, head of MAI Carbon Cluster Management GmbH, a research programme supported by the German govenment & BMW among others, told Bloomberg that they have, "reached a halfway point":
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-09/bmw-backed-researchers-closing-in-on-cheaper-carbon-fiber.html
http://chargedevs.com/newswire/german-consortium-halfway-to-goal-of-reducing-carbon-fiber-costs-by-90-percent/ / large scale manufacturing manufacture cars lightweight carbon fiber costs fall materials development group Bayerische Motoren Werke AG BMW MAI Carbon Cluster Management GmbH research federal government research reducing carbon fiber production cost cost cutting target carbon-fiber parts professor Technical University of Munich next generation of cars BMW Audi AG NSU manufacturers components weigh mass Roland Berger Strategy Consultants Holding GmbH automation production electric cars electric vehicle EV Augsburg Germany planemaker Airbus Group NV AIR engineering Siemens AG SGL Carbon SE SGL joint venture BMW carbon fiber passenger frame i8 hybrid sports car research Oak Ridge Carbon Fiber Composites Consortium Oak Ridge Tennessee Ford Motor Dow Chemical Herbert Diess development Munich /
