The use of plastics within the automotive industry is fast increasing (growing 5.7 percent growth rates between 2002 and 2003) for the following reasons:

• Plastics are durable and strong and are resistant to impact and corrosion
• Plastics are versatile allowing freedom in design moulding and integration of components
• Plastics are low cost
• Plastics are light-weight which leads to energy saving and subsequently to less pollution
• Plastics ease the manufacture and assembly of cars- one moulded component can integrate several parts previously made from different materials

Reduced Weight: An average new car in 1984 contained 8.5% by weight of plastics. A similar car today contains around 11%. Hi-tech features being introduced into cars as standard practice can potentially increase their weight as can the larger engine sizes favoured for higher speed performance. A judicious use of plastics materials can help substantially to reduce the additional weight and make the cars more environmentally viable. In 2005 the Renault Clio 1.2 three door was 298lb heavier than the equivalent in 2004. Companies such as BMW are now planning to use more plastics in their cars for these reasons.

Energy Saving:  750 litres of petrol can be saved by replacing metal parts with plastic. 100 kg of plastics in a car replace 200 - 300 kg of traditional materials. All other factors being equal, this represents a reduction in fuel consumption of 750 litres over a life span of 150,000 km. A hypothetical car weighing 1.3 tonnes without plastics would consume around 1000 litres of extra fuel during its lifetime compared to a car weighing 1.1 tonnes with a plastics content.

Reduced Emissions: The DTI's Energy Review Consultation Document (January 2006) said "average fuel efficiency from new cars improved by 10% since 1997" and "Average emissions from new cars in the UK went from 192 grams of CO2 per kilometre in 1995 to 172 in 2004". These improvements can be attributed to the increasing use of plastics in cars working to reduce emissions.

Recycling: The reuse of parts and the reclamation of materials from motor vehicles is not a new industry. Metal parts in particular have for a long time had a value, either in terms of reuse or recycling. Nowadays there are many parts that can be recycled, from the oil and its filter to plastic bumpers. The BPF's PROVE automotive recycling project, funded by the DTI has helped enormously in assessing the potential for recycling of particular car parts.

Comfort, Safety and Aesthetics: Plastics are vital in the making cars. More specifically, they are used in air bags, seats, seat covers, insulation, electrics, under bonnet applications, acoustics and thermals in cars. In addition they provide a wider range of colour.

Innovations: In 2002, European Plastics News reported a prototype carbon-fibre concept car weighing half of its metal equivalent and capable of running 115 miles on a gallon of fuel is to be built in the UK early next year. The production method is claimed to be an advantage. The team says tooling costs could be cut by 95% compared to traditional press tools. Production time will be cut by the use of robots to build fibre components. The companies involved in the project included Ford, Lotus, Honda and various materials suppliers.

Ford's Mustang grille which at 65 percent, the opening reinforcement exceeds Ford's corporate mandate of 25 percent post-consumer recycled content. Polyethylene has a lower specific gravity than the other materials - comparable even to more costly magnesium - yielding a 20-25 percent weight savings. Choosing plastic saved Ford about 50 percent on tooling.

An illustration of the use of one plastic material (PVC) in cars