CMF Industry View: Automotive Update

Published 13 February 2018

Author
Chloe Frost

Our Industry View reports collate the latest trends in colour, material and finish (CMF) and explain how they are set to influence future applications in different sectors, focusing on one industry at a time. Here, we round up the key themes emerging across the automotive sector – featuring significant innovations from Rolls-Royce, Nissan and Audi.

Warm, earthen shades of brown, bronze and orange are being pushed by car manufacturers as colour options for new vehicles. These grounded colours offer a new luxury aesthetic.
As vehicles become increasingly autonomous, designers are finding ways to alleviate feelings of mistrust around technology taking control. Integrated LED lighting offers friendly, informative signals to drivers and other road users, while illuminated colour highlights and decorative patterns offer warmth and reassurance within the vehicle.
Carmakers are enhancing the appeal of electric vehicles through clean white colour applications for exteriors and interiors. Geometric patterns replace obsolete features such as grilles to amplify a forward-thinking and modern aesthetic.
A wider range of customisable and bespoke colour choices cater to individual consumer tastes. Colour accents add personality to cabin interiors while bi-tone paintwork gives more choice in mass-market vehicles.
Car manufacturers are using sustainable material alternatives such as vegan leather and implementing recycled paper components. They’re placing greater importance on the lasting impact of materials and production methods on the environment to satisfy the needs of increasingly eco-aware consumers.
Innovative self-healing materials that can renew and amend defects are infiltrating the automotive industry. With material resources diminishing, manufacturers are considering the durability of materials as a means of boosting vehicle longevity.

CMF Industry View: Automotive Update

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Topics

Art & Design
Automotive & Transport
Materials
Colour
Digital

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