Research: Light vehicle body structures & modules report (2nd edition)
Date published: Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Description
The body structure comprises the essential skeleton of every light vehicle, and its design, development and production remain among the most capital intensive areas of the automotive industry. While automotive manufacturers continuously attempt to reduce costs, new investment is repeatedly required in order to differentiate products through distinctive styling and added features, and to comply with increasingly-demanding safety, emissions, end-of-life vehicle (ELV) recycling and other environmental regulations.
Body structures technology has a central part to play in the mandatory advancement of passive safety for vehicle occupants and other road users, especially pedestrians and cyclists. By improving the impact-absorbing capacity of the entire body structure – front, rear, sides and roof – the occupant safety cell and restraint systems are enabled to function optimally. By focussing on the impact-absorbing capacity of the front-end, hood and wings, injuries to pedestrians and cyclists involved in collisions with vehicles can also be minimised.
With the issue of reducing global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions achieving prominence, all the major automotive manufacturing jurisdictions have introduced mandatory requirements for improvements in fuel economy, either directly or as measured by emissions. Body structures technology also has a part to play in this quest through the reduction of vehicle weight and improved aerodynamics.
Enabling these advances are a number of technology sectors, including the use of: computer-assisted passive safety design; lighter, high-strength steels and alternative materials such as aluminium and plastics; new, cost-saving joining techniques; and environmentally-friendly paints and coatings.
During recent years, there has been an increasing trend towards the outsourcing of body structures, from small structural components and sub-assemblies, through modular front-ends, wings, roofs and doors, to full platforms and complete body-in-white vehicles. This shifting of responsibility to Tier 1 suppliers has a number of economic advantages for OEMs and provides significant opportunities for suppliers to take advantage of their specialist competencies, business models and market niches. As a consequence, there has been a phase of consolidation among the larger suppliers as Tier 1 companies broaden their competencies and expand their manufacturing capacity in order to better compete for outsourcing contracts.
Table of contents:
Executive summary
Introduction
Market drivers
Safety
Occupant protection
Pedestrian protection
Weight
OEMs
Cost
Differentiation
Manufacturing flexibility
Time to market
Suppliers
Market barriers
OEMs
Suppliers
Market dynamics
Technology developments
Platforms
Body structures
Front-ends
Front-end modules
Bumper modules
Crash cans
Wing modules
Roof modules and systems
Roof modules
Sunroofs
Panoramic roofs
Convertible soft-tops
Retractable hard-tops
Doors
Rear doors
Enabling technologies
Materials
Steel
Aluminium
Magnesium
Plastics
Carbon fibre
Hybrid construction
Renewable materials
Hydroforming
Joining technologies
Advanced welding technologies
Laser welding
Plasma arc welding
Friction stir welding
Magnetic pulse welding
Ultrasonic aluminium welding
Self-piercing rivets
Clinching
Adhesives
Paints and coatings
Rust-proofing
Paint layers
Electrocoat
Primer
Basecoat
Clearcoat
Body structures and modules suppliers
Brose
Faurecia
Magna
Peguform
Plastic Omnium
ThyssenKrupp
Tower International
Webasto
voestalpine Polynorm
