Industry Trends

As the industry responds to customer demand for style variants and niche models, with shorter development times, Pilkington Automotive helps customers engineer value into vehicle glazing - cutting costs in parallel with product enhancement.

Shortening development time

Pressure for differentiation and the need to develop new models quickly have considerably shortened development time as the industry moves towards the '12 month car'. The need to ensure that vehicle glazing is right the first time has brought the glazing supplier into the development and design process at an early
stage. Pilkington Automotive is able to computer-simulate glazing performance to help car designers achieve their aims.

Glazing demands

Vehicle manufacturers are increasingly looking to Automotive glazing suppliers such as Pilkington Automotive to help produce vehicles with clear differentiation. This is most obvious in areas such as complex windshields and backlights with deep bending and added features. New designs for Cielo rooflights and Panoramic windshields increase demands on glazing engineering as the glazing becomes a structural feature of the vehicle. Laminated side glazings increase comfort, security and safety, as well as permitting added functionality.

Environmental and safety issues

Pilkington Automotive works closely with VMs in the development of Automotive glazing products that meet environmental demands, such as vehicle end-of-life and recycling issues. Solar control glazings attenuate solar gain in vehicles, reducing air conditioning load and fuel consumption. Safety factors are key in vehicle glazing system design.