Plastics.

The Future for

Automakers and
Chemical Companies
As legislative bodies hammer out laws to reduce
man-made emissions, and $150-a-barrel oil seems
feasible, it is fair to project that by 2020 plastics will
comprise 18 percent of the average vehicle’s weight.

Plastics. The Future for Automakers and Chemical Companies 1

 Who could forget the scene in The Graduate when Dustin Hoffman’s character Ben Braddock,
college degree in hand, is taken aside by older, wiser Mr. McGuire to hear the secret of success?
“I just want to say one word to you, just one word. Are you listening?” “Yes, sir, I am,” Ben replies.
“Plastics. There is a great future in plastics. Think of that. Will you think of that?” “Yes, I will,”
mumbles Ben. “Enough said,” declares Mr. McGuire. “That’s a deal.”1

Today, more than 40 years after Mr. McGuire uttered these words, engineered plastics are fast
becoming the future for two industries—chemical and automotive—as environmental concerns
are increasingly affecting both. Even in emerging countries, legislative bodies are hammering
out laws aimed at reducing man-made emissions that threaten the environment. Add to this
the lingering effects of the global economic crisis and the result is a profound change in global
manufacturing.

For optimal fuel efficiency, automakers

are using more lightweight materials—
plastics and polymer-based components.
At the same time, increased competition for energy sources and a growing demand for automo-
biles are putting pressure on oil prices, and the notion of $150 a barrel no longer seems unreal-
istic. And regulators in both developed and emerging nations are legislating vehicle-emission
standards and encouraging recyclability as a means by which to address both energy costs and
environmental concerns.

Figure 11
Plastics will account for
for 18
18percent
percentof
ofaverage
averagevehicle
vehicleweight
weightby
by2020,
2020,u
 p from 14 percent
in 2000
up from 14 percent in 2000

Percentage of total vehicle weight

100%
6% 9% 13% 14% 16% 18% Plastics
2%
79% 2%
76% 5% 6% Rubber
6% 7%
75% 65% 63% 61%
55% Metals

Others
50%

25%

18% 18% 20%

17%
14% 14%
0%
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

1,100 kg 1,180 kg 1,260 kg 1,340 kg 1,400 kg 1,100 kg Average vehicle

weight
Notes: kg
Notes: kg == kilogram.
kilogram. Due
Due to
to rounding,
rounding, some
some percentages
percentages may
may not
not add
add up
up to
to 100.
100.
Source: A.T.
Source: A.T. Kearney
Kearney analysis
analysis

1 To view the scene, click here.

Plastics. The Future for Automakers and Chemical Companies 2

The trend toward lightweight vehicles is a prime example. Since 2008—not coincidentally the
year the global economy bottomed out—the average vehicle weight has dropped 20 percent,
which translates into a similar reduction in per-vehicle emissions. In Europe, analysts project
that by 2020, the average vehicle weight will shrink to a little more than a ton—its 1970 level—
after peaking at nearly 1.5 tons in 2010.

The main reason for the trend, of course, is that lightweight vehicles are more fuel efficient.
Ironically, another fuel-efficiency trend—electric power trains—results in heavier cars. While
standard engines account for about 12 percent of a car’s total weight, electric power trains
account for 20 percent due to the extra-heavy battery.

To preserve optimum fuel efficiency, automakers are using materials that are more lightweight—
plastics and polymer-based components. We project that over the next decade, plastics will
account for 18 percent of the average vehicle’s weight, up from 14 percent in 2000 (see figure 1).

More than a hundred types and grades of plastic, categorized by performance requirements
such as appearance, rigidity, resistance, weight, and cost, are used in the average vehicle.
For instance, polypropylene (PP) is used in dashboards, wheel covers, and some engine parts;
polyurethane (PUR) is employed in seats; polyethylene (PE) in carpets; and polyamide (PA)
in parts that need to be heat- and chemical-resistant. Mass-volume plastics—acrylonitrile
butadiene styrene (ABS), PP, PUR, and nylon—account for 70 percent of the plastics used in a
car, while composites and higher-end plastics account for the rest.

Importantly, plastic consumption patterns vary by region, sometimes even from one automotive
original equipment manufacturer to another. European manufacturers use more plastics than
those in North America and Japan. The latter have been slow to switch to petroleum-based
plastics and are less familiar with high-grade plastics, and so continue to use more steel.

The Challenges for Plastics

As automakers are challenged to build vehicles that are more environmentally friendly, they
will use more plastics. This presents a significant opportunity for chemical companies. Taking
full advantage of this opportunity, however, will require dealing with a new set of challenges.
Among the most daunting of these are the following:

• More competition from steel. Steel is still cheaper than plastics and benefits from innova-
tions—in either product (for example, dual grades, tailored blanks) or process (for example,
laser-welding)—that have improved its performance and reduced its weight.

• Price volatility. As prices are based on oil costs, they change quickly.

• Regular shortages. A relatively small number of global plants supplies all industries
(especially for intermediates production).

• Recyclability. Here, steel has the edge again, largely because the numerous different types
and grades of plastics are difficult to recycle.

To meet this last challenge—recyclability—chemical companies have had to develop ways to

reduce plastic’s environmental footprint with bio-sourced and recyclable materials. Bioplastics
are produced from renewables, with two main agricultural sources—starch-based, derived
mostly from sugar cane; and corn, potatoes, beets, and oil polymers (see figure 2). As a result,
bioplastics’ primary raw material base is diversified and its dependency on oil reduced.

Plastics. The Future for Automakers and Chemical Companies 3

Figure 22
Five primary ways to
to produce
producebioplastics
bioplastics

Sugar chemistry Monomer production from sugar fermentation

Seeds Cultivation Extraction Fermentation Polymerization

Examples: Example:
lactic acid, ethanol polylactic acid

Polymer production from sugar fermentation

Seeds Cultivation Extraction Polymer

fermentation
Example:
Polyhydroxyalkanoates

Oil chemistry Polymer production from molecules extracted from plants (oil)

Seeds Cultivation Extraction Polymer

fermentation
Example:
Rilsan

Mechanical Extraction from plant polymers (starch)

approach
Seeds Cultivation Polymer
extraction

Thermochemistry Thermochemical process

Seeds Cultivation Gasification Monomer Polymerization

re-composition

Source: A.T. Kearney analysis

Author to insert legend text

Although Author bioplastics comprised

to insert legend text less than 1 percent of all plastics in 2009 (with a global capacity
of only 900 kilotons), its production has grown by more than 40 percent annually since 2007.
Source: A.T. Kearney analysis
The market is still highly fragmented, however, with few bioplastics manufacturers targeting
automotive as a major outlet (some applications can be found within polylactic acid, polyhy-
droxyalkanoates, polyamide 11, and polyethylene terephthalate). Given current and planned
production volumes and the price correlation of agricultural raw materials with oil prices,
bioplastics will remain non-cost competitive with traditional plastics and will at best supply 20
percent of total plastics needs.

An additional concern for bioplastics makers is that in Europe, new regulations require a large
proportion of vehicle materials to be recyclable by 2015. A European Union directive requires
95 percent of an end-of-life vehicle to be valorized and 85 percent of that to be recycled. This
means 60 percent of a vehicle’s plastics have to be recycled. We expect to see similar legis-
lation being introduced in other regions of the world in the foreseeable future (see figure 3).
The problem is that while recycled plastics are environmentally friendlier and less costly than
non-recyclable ones, they are less pure and do not perform as well. Thus, recycled products
might enrich the portfolio, but cannot always be used as a substitute for virgin resins.

Plastics. The Future for Automakers and Chemical Companies 4

Figure 3
Figure 3
The evolution toward environmentally friendly plastics
The evolution toward environmentally friendly plastics
biodegradable

Near-term
plastics ?
Fully Non-
biodegradable

Current Bioplastic Bioplastic

plastics 2010 2015
(prototype)

Fully petroleum-based Fully organic

Source: A.T. Kearney analysis
Source: A.T. Kearney analysis

In attempting to resolve this dilemma, there is a third option: composites that combine the
advantage of steel and plastics. These fiber-reinforced plastics represent a credible alternative
to steel both in terms of material characteristics and cost competitiveness (see figure 4). Fiber-
reinforced plastics are now being used to make structural and non-structural components such
as seat structures, bumpers, hoods, and fuel tanks.

Joining Forces
To become more plastics-oriented, the automotive industry and the chemical industry are
likely to join forces in a value chain that includes peripheral companies such as plastic-injection
companies and automotive suppliers. This integrated value chain will have two goals: first,
improving plastic’s performance standards to better meet consumer needs and comply with
government regulations; and second, developing innovative ways to reach sometimes contra-
dictory objectives of sustainability.

Improving performance

By improving performance we mean improving resistance, stiffness, weight, sustainability,

and aesthetics, to name a few factors. The auto companies will want to move material consid-
erations upstream in the overall design process, especially to align safety criteria and energy-
efficiency goals. And they will want to convince suppliers to develop polymer-based materials
that leverage the properties and benefits of plastics—this in turn can generate innovation and
new automotive applications. Collaborative research and development will be more focused
on material properties and technology issues. If involved early enough, plastics can be used
to substitute parts like-for-like, and also deliver an advantage by improving aesthetics, and

Plastics. The Future for Automakers and Chemical Companies 5

Figure 4
offer several
Fiber-reinforced plastic composites offer severaladvantages
advantagesin
interms
termsof
oftechnical
technical
performance

Weight Typically 25 to 35 percent lighter than steel parts of equal strength

Manufacturing Faster to assemble, as fewer parts are required, which cuts manufacturing costs
and complexity, and often speeds up the design process and new model launch

Tooling Less than half the cost—40 percent—of steel-stamping

Damage resistance Ding and dent superior to that of aluminum and steel panels

Corrosion resistance Better corrosion resistance than most materials in any application,
automotive or otherwise

Internal damping Less noise, less vibration, less harshness

Design More versatile—molding offers geometric details, shape complexity, and a depth-of-
draw range unavailable with metal stamping; in some cases, it is impossible to
manufacture a vehicle part with other materials

Source: A.T. Kearney Real Companies, Real Growth study, 2011

Sources: Automotive Composites Alliance; A.T. Kearney analysis

reducing costs and vehicle weight. This latter point, reducing vehicle weight, is accomplished
via suppression of sub-assemblies; for example, new thin seats are the result of merging foam,
fabric, and structure.

However, such breakthrough innovations will require a complete re-engineering of system

architecture, and therefore will need to be initiated sufficiently in advance of a program’s
design phase. Also, industries will have to join forces to develop predictive engineering tools,
shared performance models, and material-properties data for composites (to help develop
prototypes). Industries will also work together to investigate new production and assembly
processes, such as a way to join plastics and metals.

Increasing sustainability

As for the often contradictory objectives of sustainability, plastics can be environmentally

friendly and contribute to the overall “greening” of the automotive industry. Figure 5 illustrates
the effect one vehicle can have on the environment in terms of greenhouse gases.

Aside from the obvious and vital objective of reducing vehicle weight, other green areas include
assessing the trade-offs between bio-based and petroleum-based plastics, the recyclability of a
vehicle (and biodegradability of its components), and the extent to which production processes
are energy efficient. Automotive applications are in general “investments” with respect to the
use of carbon. Unlike dispersive applications of chemicals, such as shampoo, or short life-
cycle applications, such as plastic bags, the trade-off between bio and petroleum-based is
less compelling. Quite the reverse, recycling appears to be the one mid-term challenge to be
confronted worldwide. This implies not only developing recyclable materials with sufficient
performance but also introducing recyclable automotive parts.

Plastics. The Future for Automakers and Chemical Companies 6

 Figure 5
How a vehicle produces greenhouse gas

Equivalent of CO2 kilograms per ton1

50,000
Recycling and waste
47,000 -20% -38%
500
Vehicle usage
40,000
37,000 Parts and vehicle
500 assembly
Components production
30,000 29,000 (plastic injection)
500
39,000 Raw materials production
(chemicals, compounding)
20,000 31,000

24,000

10,000
2,000 1,000 700
1,500 1,200 1,000
4,000 3,500 3,000
0
1,253 kg 1,000 kg 800 kg Average vehicle weight

190 kg 225 kg 275 kg Weight of plastics in average

vehicle
1 CO2isiscarbon
1CO2 carbondioxide.
dioxide.
Source: A.T. Kearney
Source: A.T. Kearney analysis
analysis

Again, meeting both performance and sustainability challenges will require substantial collabo-
ration throughout the complex automotive-plastics value chain—including the creation of a
downstream recyclability industry.

Plastic Power
The bottom line is that to remain competitive and prosperous, the automotive industry has to
develop affordable vehicles that comply with increasingly stringent environmental regulations,
and the chemical industry has to become more involved in the auto industry. The key for both
industries lies in one word: Plastics.

Authors

Gaël Rouilloux, partner, Paris Bartek Znojek, principal, Middle East

gael.rouilloux@atkearney.com bartek.znojek@atkearney.com

Plastics. The Future for Automakers and Chemical Companies 7

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Plastics. The Future for Automakers and Chemical Companies 8