Auto Suppliers Racing to Meet New Fuel-Economy Standards

As the new fuel regulations that require a double average fuel efficiency by 2025 were introduced, industry suppliers are speeding to win contracts for the next generation of vehicle parts. The heat is on the advanced batteries and electric cars, also technology needed to reach the new fuel targets very attractive and will show up long before 2025. There are also expected important innovations to traditional internal combustion engines and reduction in Vehicle’s weight.

The winners of the natural selection, if we could call it like that, will be BorgWarner turbochargers, Continental and Denso andvanced engine components and lightweight raw materials form makers such as Alcoa, with aluminum, and Severstal with advanced steels.

"We'll still be using the internal combustion engine for the next 50 years. There are opportunities for those who can improve on it," Harold Schock, head of automotive engineering at Michigan State University, was quoted as saying by Detroit Free Press.

Furthermore, BorgWarner’s CEO sees the new-federal fuel economy standards as a boost for the company’s turbocharger business. Continental is making a footprint as a leader in bringing mechanical components into the electrical industry. Suppliers like Denso and Bosch are increasing efforts to advance the internal combustion engine. Denso is a leader in in start-stop technology, which is forecasted to expand rapidly as as manufacturers are squeezing every drop of fuel efficiency from engines.

"When the engine stops and its 90 degrees in Houston, that driver's going to get hot pretty quickly,” Doug Patton, Denso's Senior Vice President of Engineering, as the aforementioned source cites. Thus the company is developing a device resembling an icepack to provide cooler air.