Transport

Auto Components

If you removed all the components of your car made from styrene-based products, you would probably no longer be able to drive it. In 1953, composite reinforced plastics (i.e. fibreglass) were first used in an automotive application - for the body of the new Corvette sports car. Since then, the use of composites, unsaturated polyester resins (UPR) and other styrene-based materials in cars and trucks has steadily increased. Colourfast durability, the ability to form custom shapes, and lightweight make composites plastics a natural choice for automotive bodies and components. From entire lorry cabs for the "big rigs" to the synthetic rubber tyres you ride on, styrenic products have become an integral part of the automotive industry.

But styrene-based materials are not only used in the automotive industry for their easy processability or the reduction of the vehicle assembly time and costs they help achieve… The weight savings achieved through plastics' use are significant: approximately 100kg (230 pounds) of plastics in a modern car replace 200 to 300kg (460-680 pounds) of traditional materials. Using less to do more: the use of plastics in car design helps minimise environmental impact (among other things through fuel savings) and save resources, cutting fuel consumption in the average car by 750 litres (170 gallons) over a life span of 150,000 km (95000 miles)!