Design focus for electric cars must include lighter materials

Australia needs to change its vehicle design practices to accommodate new materials and the growing demand for electric cars and buses, a Deakin University engineer has said.

Bernard Rolfe, professor of advanced manufacturing at the university’s engineering faculty in Geelong, warns that Australia needs to take a smarter and more strategic approach to global changes in transport use.

“Autonomous vehicles will disrupt the automotive sector, because within the next decade vehicles may be able to pick up passengers, make deliveries and earn money for their owner while the owner is busy at work,” he said in a university statement.