SYSTEMATIC APPROACH ON MATERIALS SELECTION IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY FOR MAKING VEHICLES LIGHTER, SAFER AND MORE FUEL–EFFICIENT

The replacement of parts manufactured with conventional materials by pieces manufactured with compound or composite materials contributes to the reduction of the weight of the vehicle, to greater efficiency in the consumption of fuel and to an improvement in the relation between power and weight of the vehicle what translates in a greater performance of the same. Historically, the use of composite materials in the automotive sector has seen limited had to, fundamentally, to the capacities of production. However, the new requirements in the automotive sector are promoting the use of materials composed in this sector.