Heavy on the lightweighting

Weight reduction is already a significant consideration in companies' product development efforts, and the emphasis is only going to increase in the years ahead, according to SAE-member survey respondents.

The U.S. government finalized in late August a regulation establishing 54.5 mpg as the average fuel economy required of cars and light trucks in MY2025. The newest set of CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) regulations begins with MY2017 products; a prior set of regulations covers MY2012 through 2016, the final year of which the CAFE requirement is 35.5 mpg.

To make the almost 20-mpg leap in less than a decade-and to meet similar upcoming mandates in other regions of the world-automakers and their suppliers must develop and deploy a variety of fuel-saving technologies.