Why your next car might be made from plastic

To the average consumer, plastics are probably perceived as weaker, cheaper, and less technologically advanced materials than metals for automotive applications. However, this is not strictly true for high-tech structural composites in development today, which in some cases can beat the competition.

Regardless of the material that is used for a component or structural part of a vehicle, it still needs to serve the same function and meet the same requirements. Plastics undergo the same testing as steel and aluminium, and in some cases, they perform even better than a metal equivalent. The idea that anything other than metal is of a lower quality is unfounded, argues Mike Siwajek, Vice President of R&D at Continental Structural Plastics (CSP), a lightweight composite and plastic supplier.