Abstract
This paper investigates why material throughput remains high in the UK automotive industry when there are opportunities for material efficiency improvements. Informed by socio-technical studies of automobility, the paper emphasises the importance of recognising how decisions regarding material use are always shaped by more than simply cost considerations. Drawing on industry interviews, six interconnected socio-technical factors are identified that guide the vehicle design and manufacturing process. These are: (1) customer preferences; (2) market positioning; (3) techno-economic feasibility; (4) supply chain feasibility; (5) regulation and (6) organisational attributes. These factors can provide insights into the current operating context of the UK automotive industry and help explain why the average material intensity of vehicles and vehicle throughput are increasing. Overall, the paper shows that the efficiency of material use in the UK automotive industry is the outcome of complex and advanced design and manufacturing processes. Understanding these processes and the factors that guide them can potentially increase the likelihood of the automotive industry adopting material efficiency initiatives.
Highlights
A quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions (GhG) are released during the transformation of ores into materials, and materials into products and services (Bajzelj et al, 2013)
The total amount of material throughput along the automotive supply chain will depend on how much material is embedded in each vehicle, how many vehicles are sold and any yield losses that occur during the manufacturing process
Using the UK automotive industry as a case study, this paper investigates why material throughput remains high when there are technically feasible opportunities to improve the efficiency of material use
Summary
A quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions (GhG) are released during the transformation of ores into materials, and materials into products and services (Bajzelj et al, 2013). If GhG emissions-intensive materials such as steel and aluminium were used more efficiently, there could be a reduction in industrial energy use and emissions. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2014) conclude that industrial material efficiency, improving the ratio of material inputs to deliver products and services, is currently an underexploited GhG mitigation strategy. The total amount of material throughput along the automotive supply chain will depend on how much material is embedded in each vehicle (material intensity), how many vehicles are sold (vehicle throughput) and any yield losses that occur during the manufacturing process. Vehicles are manufactured and traded around the world. Over half of UK vehicles are sold in Europe (SMMT, 2016)
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