Carbon fibre reinforced parts for cars could drop in price by more than 70% within a few years’ time, making them a viable alternative to standard materials such as steel and aluminium. This according to an executive at carbon specialist SGL. Hubert Jäger, SGL’s Technology and Innovation chief, says “Today the average cost of light-weight carbon fiber parts is €100/kg, of which €20 is for materials and €80 for manufacturing.”
SGL make carbon fibre reinforced parts for BMW’s i sub-brand. The automaker introduced the i3 electric car in November and will roll out the i8 plug-in hybrid supercar later this year. Both models feature a carbon-fibre chassis to reduce weight and improve fuel efficiency.
BMW Group are the second-largest shareholder in SGL, with an 18% stake in the company. SGL’s largest individual shareholder is Susanne Klatten’s investment company SKion, which has a stake of about 28% in the supplier. Klatten also is part of the Quandt family, who have a 46% stake in BMW. VW Group hold a share of about 10% in SGL.
BMW and SGL are planning to double their joint production of carbon fibre to 6,000 tons a year from 3,000 tons now. While that still makes carbon fibre reinforced parts more expensive than metal parts, they have the advantage of being more malleable and not needing an energy-intensive cathodic electrocoat against corrosion, the executive added.
