Will Cars Be Modularized?

Abstract

Global carmakers have faced a dilemma between ever-advancing vehicle functionalities and increasing pressures to lower development and production costs. Introduction of new technologies, e.g., recuperative braking system, vehicle stability control system and automatic emergency braking system, leads to more complexity of engineering designs and increasing vehicle development costs. On the other hand, the global carmakers, to meet growing demands for mobility in emerging economies, have to develop a wider variety of models tailored to local needs and regulations at much lower costs.