Hard to pin down

摘要

There has probably never been a better time to be an automotive engineer - the range of technologies being integrated into vehicles is unprecedented. But the challenges faced by industry have never been greater either. Carbon emissions targets have a massive influence on technology roadmaps but many of the solutions for tailpipe CO_2, such as batteries, motors and the electronics required to run them, are costly and relatively immature. And then there are consumers. Their expectations are always increasing, encouraged by advances in mobile electronic devices, where lifecycles are measured in months, not years.