Climate change and revision in values have been driving the development of the green and renewable energy sector worldwide. Such trends have affected many spheres, and the transport market is no exception. According to the LLLParts experts, this is a giant step that allows people to use daily transportation not only with a lower impact on the environment but also to save money.
EVs remain the main focus
The most obvious step in the automotive market towards a more sustainable environment is electric cars. Recently, the number of electric vehicles on the streets has been increasing rapidly, and manufacturers are introducing more and more different models of electric vehicles every year. Although the first electric cars did not have optimal energy consumption and performance, today, most of these problems have already been solved, and some electric cars can already cover a greater distance on a single charge than cars with internal combustion engines. The manufacturers achieved such results by trying to improve the aerodynamic properties of electric car bodies, optimizing their energy consumption, and ensuring that their weight is as low as possible. A great example of technological progress is electric car batteries, which are getting smaller and smaller over time. This helps to reduce vehicle weight and energy consumption. Nevertheless, new technologies allow maintaining higher battery capacity even in smaller batteries.
The development of EV infrastructure
Another important aspect is the infrastructure adapted to electric vehicles. Just as cars with internal combustion engines need fuel stations, electric cars need charging stations. With the growing number of electric cars on the streets, the number of charging stations inevitably increases. It is estimated that there were around 57,000 charging stations in the UK in February 2024, which is 47% more than a year ago. According to sources, in 2030, this number should increase to 300,000.
Hydrogen is the future?
Although electric cars occupy the largest share of the renewable and environmentally friendly car market, you can hear more and more about hydrogen-powered vehicles. Hydrogen is an extremely flammable gas that produces nothing but ordinary water when it burns. Indeed, this technology is still being developed. Still, according to specialists, it is likely that in the future, hydrogen-powered vehicles may become even more popular than electric cars. Of course, hydrogen fuel is quite dangerous due to its properties, which is why car manufacturers are already investing in the design and production of specially adapted car parts.
Eco-friendly plastic
It is also worth mentioning the materials from which the cars are made. It’s no secret that most car parts have been made of plastic for a long time, which is considered not the most sustainable solution. For this reason, manufacturers have recently started using eco-friendly bioplastics to produce many car parts. At first glance, the main cause of pollution emitted by cars may be CO2 emissions, but there are more sources of pollution. One is plastic parts that emit non-dissolving microplastic particles into the environment. In contrast to conventional plastics, bioplastics can break down into organic parts that degrade much faster.