Previous Page
Lessons Learned By Ginny Whelan ginny@araeducation.com
A Look into the Future
he last generation car talked horse- power. The next generation car is all about the voltage. To get a better idea of future vehicles, it’s about tech develop- ment. The average new car is packed with features we take for granted, yes things like self-parking and satellite navigation were radical theories or movie effects a generation ago. Emerging technology promises to make safer, less polluting, “connected cars” – which may eventually evolve into driverless cars – but for the foreseeable future we still have a human at the wheel and humans dismantling them for reuse.
T
Get smart. Just as regulation has helped increase fuel efficiency, cut exhaust fumes, and introduced anti-skid equip- ment, so government involvement is advancing connected cars on the road. Earlier this year, Europe’s standard agen- cies agreed on a common set of protocols for cars and traffic infrastructure to com- munities for driverless vehicles. Exciting future for auto parts recycling? With the continuing push by the com- munity and government, cars in the future must grow by manufactured design in ways to assure that all materials will be reused. They will need to be sim- ple to dismantle with each component labelled so that parts and materials are identifiable and available for reuse. The future cars will change the work- flow of automotive recycling facilities and require redesign of work space to accom- modate and increase in electronic parts. Dismantling will totally move indoors. Initial handling procedures and order of dismantling will change to address hybrid, electric vehicles, and alternative fuels. Clear channels of information from man- ufacturers for safe methods of reuse must evolve, with user-friendly training for the automotive recycling workforce handling the future cars.
Car materials will matter more, whether more aluminum, carbon fibers, blended plastics, lithium ion batteries, fuel cells
20 Automotive Recycling | March-April 2015
all cars sold worldwide in 2013 were equipped with OEM embedded telemat- ics systems. The embedded systems mar- ket in North America is around 70% and expected to grow 30.6% annually with shipments reaching 54.5 million in 2020. “We now have the ability to monitor
and embedded telematics. The CIECA Recycled Parts & Inventory Committee added the following materials to their code list to cover the new car materials.
Part Material - Aluminum Part Material - Aluminum/Dual Phase Steel
Part Material - Aluminum/High Strength Steel
Part Material - Aluminum/Magnesium Part Material - Boron Part Material - Boron/High Strength Steel
Part Material - Carbon Fiber Part Material - Dual Phase Steel Part Material - Extra High Strength Steel Part Material - High Strength Steel Part Material - Laminated Steel Part Material - Magnesium Part Material - Mild/High Strength Steel Part Material - Mixed Substrates
Elon Musk, CEO, Tesla Motors Inc. just revealed a new line of business for his company’s selling or leasing lithium-ion battery packs for home energy storage. Could this be a new business niche for auto recyclers for the reuse of these bat- tery packs in the future?
Another hot topic on future cars is telematics.
The Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA) surveyed their mem- bers and 61 percent felt that telematics would have a positive impact on their business, but many expect to see a loss of market share for independent service providers as dealerships leverage these telematics. The research firm Berg Insight estimates that nearly 12 percent of
what’s going on in the vehicle in real time, so that we can understand what’s hap- pening with a particular vehicle or part in relation to its environment and in rela- tion to the driver behind the wheel,” says Jeff Nedwick, Infor’s director of automo- tive industry strategy.
The impact of emerging market for telematics in cars for auto recyclers is important but exact business models are still not clear. Most telematics systems receive three kinds of data, business as usual information that the vehicle is per- forming as expected, information about airbag deployment or antilock brakes, and a whole bunch of data in the middle that is of even more interest to the broad- er market. This data can be used to mon- itor product performance, identify and fix defects.
The retrieving of this data from salvage vehicles by future recyclers could provide important part quality information and direct marketing access.
A research and development project by the ARA Educational Foundation in 2015 will retrieve data from salvage vehicles and analyze the part data to better under- stand what opportunities this information can provide for the reuse of parts. Understanding the future cars will define opportunities for the auto recyclers that are willing to see into the future, change and grow into formidable competitors.
Reference: Brian Albright, Wednesday, December 3, 2014, http://www.searchau- toparts.com/aftermarket-business/automotive-aftermarket-technology/telemat- ics-expanding-aftermarket-must-develop
Ginny Whelan, an ARA Past President, is Man- aging Director of the ARA Educational Founda- tion and founder of the ARA University, the leading Web-based training resource in auto re- cycling education. Visit www.arauniversity.org.