Reducing the weight of cars and lowering the cost of parts and their assembly has already led to a significant uptake of plastics in the automotive industry in recent decades. This trend has been further reinforced in recent years by regulatory requirements in developed countries that will drastically reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of cars in the future and significantly increase fuel efficiency. In order to further reduce weight, plastics will in future often be used in combination with other materials or with foam and fibre reinforcement.