The latest trend in the automotive industry has been the accelerated shift to vehicle electrification and autonomous driving technologies. Technological advances in these areas depend upon similar advances in the technologies used in automotive components such as sensors, cameras, control devices, and inverters. For electric vehicles with large capacity battery requirements, the need for additional weight savings is expected to continue to increase as more components are installed in the vehicle. The increased use of plastic components is expected to serve as an effective solution to reduce the weight of the vehicle.

  This report covers a number of key products exhibited by parts suppliers that are gaining attention in the industry such as plastic parts, and was written in cooperation with Mr. Takeo Yasuda, Director of the Yasuda Polymer Research Institute. Although there were fewer plastic-related new topics at the Tokyo Motor Show compared to a plastics Technology Expo, the latest automotive parts were exhibited, mainly related to vehicle electrification and autonomous driving. This report will focus on introducing trends in engineering plastics technology for the two topics.