Introduction of New Materials in the Automotive Industry: A Case Study-Based Framework

While new materials are introduced in the automotive industry regularly, there seems to be a lack of generalized frameworks for how to do this efficiently and effectively. Multiple studies have been published on material substitution in a specific component, but the applicability of these to other projects are unclear. Therefore, the authors propose a generalized framework for introduction of new materials in existing production systems in this article. In a study based on three cases in the Swedish automotive industry, the authors have found generalizable insights on challenges and opportunities when introducing new materials that could be converted into a framework for introduction of new materials in the automotive industry. This framework contains both organizational and technological aspects of new material introduction, and is built chronologically from the start of a material strategy framework formulation to the start of a material introduction project.