How Advanced Composites Are Shaping the Future of Lightweight Vehicles

In an exclusive interview with Thiruamuthan, Senior Correspondent at Asia Business Outlook, Arvind Goel, Vice Chairman of TATA AutoComp Systems, shares insights on how advanced composites are transforming India’s automotive sector. He highlights innovative manufacturing methods like SMC formulations and automation that enable 20–50% weight reduction without raising costs. Emphasizing material selection to meet fuel efficiency norms, he also discusses the growing role of composites in electric vehicles, localization strategies, and sustainable solutions, positioning these innovations as key to driving progress in India’s competitive and price-sensitive auto market.

Lightweighting is now essential for meeting India’s fuel efficiency and emission norms. How are advanced composites replacing metals in high-volume vehicle platforms across Indian OEMs?

In order to meet India's strict fuel efficiency and emission standards, lightweighting has become essential. With weight reductions of 20–50% and improved strength-to-weight ratios, enhanced thermal and acoustic insulation, improved styling flexibility, corrosion resistance, and improved crash energy absorption, advanced composites present strong advantages over conventional metals. 

Cost, however, continues to be the main obstacle. Even though the cost of composite technology is coming down, mass production applications still find it costly. Advanced composites are currently strategically used by Indian OEMs in high-end, low-volume automobiles, with an emphasis on exterior body panels, bumpers, interior modules, and crash-critical parts like SUV engine hoods and tailgates.

The economics favor low-volume production where reduced tooling costs make composites viable earlier. This is evident in specialized applications like CNG and hydrogen storage cylinders. Traditional steel CNG cylinders could achieve 25% weight reduction using composites. Tata Motors' hydrogen trucks exemplify this approach, utilizing carbon fiber composite cylinders for essential weight savings.

The adoption strategy involves selective application based on volume economics, performance requirements, and cost considerations. As technology matures and costs decrease, broader high-volume applications will become economically feasible across Indian automotive platforms. 

Thermoplastic composites allow faster processing and design freedom. How are Indian automakers integrating them into sub-4m passenger cars to reduce weight while staying cost-competitive?

In the highly competitive sub-4M passenger car market, Indian automakers must simultaneously achieve lightweight construction and cost competitiveness. Faster processing and more design flexibility are provided by thermoplastic composites, but their successful high-volume production depends on their strategic use.

Current applications focus on specific components: front-end modules, underbody shields, battery enclosures, engine covers, and spoilers. Spoilers particularly benefit from injection molding processes, reducing manufacturing costs while delivering weight savings that translate to improved fuel efficiency over the vehicle's lifecycle.

Manufacturing scalability remains challenging despite quality excellence. Advanced methods like TLFT, PU protection, robotic milling, and filament winding combined with automation are being actively developed. In-mold coating, vacuum-assisted molding, and multiple mold loading on single machines promise to streamline the traditionally seven-stage process.

Electric vehicles present the strongest case for thermoplastic composites, where weight reduction directly impacts battery life and range. SMC battery covers and bottom trays are under testing, though market adoption follows China's lead from steel to aluminum structures.

Despite composite advantages in flame resistance and safety, repair perceptions remain challenging. Unlike steel's weldable nature, composites require specialized repair kits, though these solutions are emerging to address market concerns about accident damage.

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Composite manufacturing still faces scalability and consistency issues. What innovations are Tier-1 Indian suppliers adopting to address production bottlenecks without compromising strength and quality?

Indian Tier-1 suppliers are implementing strategic innovations to overcome composite manufacturing bottlenecks while maintaining strength and quality standards. The focus centers on process optimization and automation integration to achieve scalable production without compromising performance.

Sheet Molding Compound (SMC) formulations represent a significant breakthrough, with cycle times reduced from 90 seconds to 50-60 seconds. This process involves placing composite sheets in heated presses for shape forming, with the enhanced formulations enabling faster processing while maintaining structural integrity. Advanced materials like PPF and glass film now utilize injection molding techniques, facilitating high-volume production capabilities that were previously unattainable.

Automation plays a crucial role in addressing consistency challenges. Robotic systems are being deployed across manufacturing stages, from material handling to molding processes, ensuring repeatability and quality control. Different material combinations are strategically selected based on specific component requirements, optimizing both performance and cost-effectiveness for various applications.

Market dynamics influence adoption patterns significantly. While carbon fiber components remain expensive compared to steel, performance and premium vehicles readily embrace these solutions for their superior properties. Price-sensitive small segment cars adopt fewer composite parts selectively, but the electric vehicle transition is accelerating adoption rates substantially. Electric vehicles particularly benefit from composite integration, as weight reduction directly impacts range requirements, making higher composite part adoption economically justifiable despite initial cost premiums in meeting stringent safety norms.

EVs need lightweight materials for both efficiency and battery safety. How are Indian EV makers leveraging composites to meet dual demands of structure and thermal performance?

Indian EV manufacturers are strategically deploying advanced composites to address the dual requirements of structural integrity and thermal performance. Specially developed formulations deliver 25% weight reduction while providing essential properties including high impact resistance, fire retardancy, thermal runaway protection, and other critical performance characteristics.

Battery systems represent the primary application area, with composites used extensively in battery enclosures, cell separators, and insulation columns. These components must simultaneously protect against thermal events while minimizing overall vehicle weight to maximize range efficiency. The thermal management properties of composites prove particularly valuable in preventing battery overheating and managing thermal runaway scenarios.

Beyond core battery applications, composites offer significant advantages in commercial EV segments. Small pickup truck cargo boxes manufactured from composites eliminate rust concerns, particularly beneficial for coastal operations involving fish transport or similar applications. E-commerce fleet operators increasingly prefer composite cargo boxes for electric four-wheelers, as reduced weight enables higher payload capacity and extended range capabilities.

Sustainability considerations are driving innovation in bio-based and recycled composite materials. Composite waste finds applications in the cement industry co-processing, effectively reducing carbon emissions. Process waste and end-of-life components undergo pulverization for use as functional fillers in new compounds. Bio-based resins and specially designed pigmented formulations eliminate secondary painting requirements, further reducing environmental impact while maintaining the fire-retardant properties essential for transportation applications across automotive, railway, and aviation sectors.

How are Indian automotive players engaging in international knowledge transfer or participating in global consortia to accelerate composite innovation domestically? 

Indian automotive players traditionally engage in international partnerships through joint ventures where foreign partners provide technology while Indian companies contribute manufacturing capabilities, human resources, and operational efficiencies. This model has been the standard approach across auto component companies, including TACO's ten joint ventures.

However, a significant shift is emerging. TACO has achieved a milestone by becoming one of the first Indian companies to export composite technology internationally, establishing a 50-50 joint venture with a Mexican partner. In this arrangement, TACO provides advanced composite technology while the partner contributes human resources and manufacturing operations for facilities in Mexico and the US.

This represents a rare reversal of traditional knowledge flow patterns in the Indian automotive sector, demonstrating India's growing technological maturity in composites. While such technology export ventures remain uncommon, they signal India's evolution from a technology recipient to a technology provider in specialized areas like advanced composites manufacturing.

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What strategies are Indian OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers adopting to achieve composite raw material localization while exploring cost-effective manufacturing methods for India's price-sensitive market?

Indian automotive manufacturers are aggressively pursuing localization driven by Make in India initiatives and geopolitical considerations. For standard composites, remarkable progress has been achieved with 98-99% of bill of materials now sourced domestically, requiring imports only for minor chemicals like styrene.

Carbon fiber composites remain challenging due to lack of domestic manufacturing. Reliance Industries has announced carbon fiber production plans, potentially addressing this critical gap, though such projects require massive investments.

Low-pressure molding and hybrid composite-metal solutions are being explored to balance performance and affordability. Agricultural tractor and truck industries show higher adoption rates internationally, while passenger cars currently limit composites to premium segments. However, declining costs, improved recyclability, and enhanced sustainability are driving broader adoption prospects across India's cost-sensitive automotive market in coming years.

How are Indian R&D centers leveraging simulation-driven design and virtual prototyping to accelerate composite-based vehicle component development and reduce time-to-market?

Indian R&D centers are revolutionizing composite component development by abandoning traditional RFQ-based approaches in favor of proactive, simulation-driven collaboration. Rather than waiting for quotation requests, engineers engage directly at the vehicle design stage, analyzing existing components and identifying composite conversion opportunities that deliver tangible business value.

Virtual prototyping enables comprehensive part consolidation analysis, demonstrating how multiple fabricated components can be integrated into a single composite part. This approach simplifies assembly, reduces part count, and enhances serviceability by eliminating complex attachment systems. Simulation tools validate performance characteristics before physical prototyping, dramatically reducing development cycles and costs.  

Close OEM partnership becomes essential as manufacturers face pressure to launch numerous products simultaneously. Tier-1 suppliers need to actively promote the use of composite technologies by using virtual demonstrations to make strong business cases. In India's cutthroat automotive industry, this cooperative approach shifts traditional supplier relationships from reactive quoting to strategic technology partnerships, accelerating the adoption of composites while guaranteeing optimal integration with current manufacturing processes and satisfying demanding time-to-market requirements.