The Future for Automotive Nonwovens in the Electric Vehicle (EV) Era

Global sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) rose dramatically between 2019 and 2020. If sales of such vehicles continue to gather momentum, they could potentially reach the 2020 figure for total car and light vehicle production by 2029 and reach the 2019 figure by 2030. Governments around the world have set targets for ending the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles between 2030 and 2040, and in Norway sales of these vehicles will end as early as 2025.

This report discusses the opportunities presented for nonwovens as the automotive industry edges closer to ending the production of petrol and diesel vehicles. Manufacturers and their component suppliers are turning increasingly to nonwoven fabrics for use in the manufacture of thermal insulation, acoustic insulation and filtration media. More than this, some nonwovens offer a significant advantage in the production of lightweight components, which is an attractive proposition for manufacturers who are seeking to reduce the weights of vehicles in a bid to cut manufacturing costs, fuel consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.