Forecast: Global car production until 2010
According to the independent company Autopolis (www.autopolis.com), world vehicle production will rise over the period from 1995 to 2010 from 48.2m to 61.2m units per year. The production figure for 2005 is given as 55.0m. For the period from 2000 to 2005, growth will be only marginal. During this time, production will decline in western Europe, Japan and NAFTA, but will increase in Asia, South America and central Europe.

Johnson Controls: New concept car
Johnson Controls – Europe: Johnson Controls GmbH (D-51399 Burscheid; www.jci.com) – one of the world´s leading players in the field of interior car fittings and equipment, presented its new “Ariston” concept car to demonstrate “how one dimension of a luxury-class car might look in the future.” The Ariston provides a revolutionary view of the interior of a superior class vehicle from a future generation. The car offers a wide variety of functions and features to satisfy the varying demands of the vehicle´s occupants, plus greater flexibility and more personal space. Further details about the “Ariston”: PIE-No. 45809.

A new concept car called “Etimos” is, after the “Kion” the second vehicle interior study for a medium-category vehicle developed by Johnson Controls exclusively in Europe. Details of “Etimos”: PIE-No. 45808.

BASF: Polyamide for throttle housing
Together with BASF AG (D-67056 Ludwigshafen; www.basf.de), the French auto supplier MGI Coutier S.A. (F-01410 Chezory Forens) has succeeded in manufacturing throttle systems of glass fibre-reinforced BASF-PA “Ultramid”. Coutier, as a tier-one supplier, is a direct supplier to Renault, PSA, Ford, VW, GM and Fiat.

Dow: Underbody panel of LGF-reinforced PP
Dow Automotive (Germany: D-65824 Schwalbach; www.dowautomotive.com) and Rieter Automotive AG (CH-8406 Winterthur; www.rieter.ch) have developed an innovative underbody panel for Volkswagen that will comply with the End-of-Life Vehicle Act of 2005. It is an application that uses long glass fibre reinforced PP (LFT). The innovation was developed for the Volkswagen PQ 24 platform, on which the Skoda Fabia, the new Polo and a Seat model are based. The application is already on the market in the Skoda Fabia, and is also to feature in the other models of the PQ 24 platform soon. – Further details from Dow: PIE-No. 45810.

Ticona: Extreme manufacturing tolerances with PPS
The US company Plastic Molding Corporation (PMC, Cincinnati/Ohio) is using the polyphenylene sulphide (PPS) from Ticona GmbH (D-60528 Frankfurt; www.ticona.com) for the production of fuel pumps. PPS allows PMC to achieve air chamber tolerances in production of below 0.05 mm. According to Ticona, this is a figure that appeared impossible with other materials in the production of various fuel pumps.

• Plasteurope.com Service: The following publications can be called off from the Plasteurope.com Service archive: Robert Eller Associates, Inc. (www.robertellerassoc.com), “TPOs Gain Share in Declining Thermoformed European Instrument Panel Skins Market”: PIE-No. 45776 – “SMC/BMC car model of the European Alliance for SMC”: PIE-No. 45777.