Manufacturing
Customers are demanding more and more tailor made features leading to a great diversity of models and ranges, niches and sub-niches requiring more on-demand manufacture and high modularity of components.
Pressures exist also to reduce manufacturing cycle times, waste, harmful substances and energy spent on the processes as well as costs and an increase in responsiveness, agility, flexibility and quality in order to achieve greater profitability. Low volume but fully flexible manufacturing driven by made-to-order with minimal inventory processes is required.
Research priorities have been identified as:
- Near zero landfill for both current and future vehicles to comply with legislative targets.
- Development of recycling technologies and additional revenue from recycled materials.
- Dismantling plants (only possible with design for dismantling).
- Routes to sustainable manufacture
- Low investment manufacture
- Short delivery timescales for design and build.