The Importance Of Automotive Vehicles

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The automotive industry constitutes one of particular importance in today’s societies. Over the past 50 years, automobiles have allowed people to live and work in ways “that were unimaginable a century ago” (Hwang, 2014). Automotive vehicles are “fundamental to a functioning global economy and to the well-being of the world’s citizens” (Hwang, 2014) while it also plays a key role in the technology level of other industries and of society (Hwang, 2014). A large part of the world’s population is employed in related manufacturing and services; automotive vehicles are built using the goods of a number of industries, including steel, iron, aluminum, glass, plastics, glass, carpeting, textiles, computer chips, rubber and more. Given the importance …show more content…

Primarily they focused on safety, e.g. seat belts and padded dashboards and later on airbags, automotive “black boxes,” along with rigorous technical and environmental standards, such as requirements for emissions and fuel economy. But most recently, the automotive industry’s success has strained cities’ infrastructure and the environment, especially as urbanization has augmented (Gao et al., 2014). Hence, even more intensively than before, authorities are nowadays examining the entire automotive value chain (and beyond), with an eye towards externalities (Gao et al., 2014). The central aim is addressing the social impact of automobiles across their whole life cycle, rather than merely focusing on the automobiles themselves (Gao et al., 2014). Energy issues are of course centrally placed, largely focusing on technological innovation towards environment-friendly fuel (Hwang, 2014). In any case, automotive manufacturers should expect to remain under regulatory scrutiny, with future emissions standards forcing the whole industry soon to adopt some form of electrified vehicle (Chen, Fu & Wang, 2013; Gao et al., 2014). The above-mentioned developments will probably create a more challenging environment for automakers, in which the industry’s plans for growth could collide with regulatory priorities (Gao et al., 2014). 1.5. The role of

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