Speculation has it that within six years a quarter of all eco cars will utilize carbon fiber in their construction. Companies such as GM, BMW and Toyota already have plans to turn to this lighter material in search of improved fuel economy.
Teijin Ltd. the carbon fiber manufacturer that provides Airbus Group with all their CF, forecasts industry sales of carbon fiber will reach as high as 3 million units by 2020. So far we have mostly seen carbon fiber used for super/hyper cars and luxury cars (except for the BMWi3), but that is all about to change. In the 100 million cars to be made in 2020, 12% of those will eco and electric cars that will be built with the help of carbon fiber and composite materials.
Teijin is now looking to open a factory in the US to be closer to GM and hopefully form an alliance that will rocket them to the top of carbon fiber manufacturing industry. With so many advancements in carbon fiber and its manufacturing process, carbon fiber can very well be seen in every car in a nearer future than we had before seen.
