The automotive sales have improved worldwide. With the increase in consumers' confidence in various economies, such as the US, the automotive sales in terms of the units sold have improved. In 2016, the largest automotive market, China accounted for 24.9 million units, which are over 27% of the global automotive sales in 2015. In China, the massive population along with strong economic growth is the driving factor for the rapidly growing automotive market. Apart from a strong domestic market, China is an export hub for automobiles and auto components with most of the international original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and tire suppliers having off-shore manufacturing facilities in the country.

In the recent past, safety has become a paramount focus area for OEMs and the entire automotive value chain. This can be primarily attributed to stringent regulatory push advocating safety on roads along with customers attributing safety as a key purchase influencer. Apart from these factors, the intense competition in the industry has forced OEMs to equip more number of safety features in an effort to gain market share.

EPB is an innovation in the braking technology, which has replaced the conventional handbrake with a push button. This in turn creates more in-vehicle space and also enhances drivers' comfort, safety, and convenience. In the early 2000s, EPB was introduced in luxury passenger cars such as BMW 7- Series and Lincoln LS. It has since become a common feature in high-end passenger cars since 2014. TRW pioneered the technology in 2001.

The global automotive industry has to increasingly meet the challenges of regulations and standards set by governments regarding emission of exhaust gasses such as CO2, NOx, and particulate matter from internal combustion (IC) engines. Europe is the leading country to set the standard for emission regulation. Every Euro norm is more stringent and an improvement over the earlier, aiming to reduce harmful emissions and improving the efficiency of the engine. To achieve the demanding limits of emission rules, car manufacturers are increasingly relying on advanced technologies like DOC and DPF as potential emission control devices.

ECU is a computer that controls one or many electrical systems in a vehicle. Modern ECUs employ both microprocessors and microcontrollers depending on the computational requirements. The operation of an ECU is similar to that of the basic input/output system (BIOS) of a computer. The ECU receives inputs from on-board the sensors and provides instructions to the electrical systems and sub-systems based on the received inputs. A modern vehicle may have as many as 80 ECUs to manage its electrical systems.

The global automotive differential market is categorized as AWD market and 2WD market based on the type of the differential mechanism installed in the vehicle. There is an increasing demand for AWD from emerging countries such as China, India, Brazil, and South Korea. The emerging countries are estimated to have the highest growth rate in these regions, contributing to the growth of the global automotive differential market. The market for 2WD is declining as the penetration in APAC, Europe, and the US has declined due to the increasing volume and growth of AWD systems. The open differentials are increasingly being replaced by more efficient and compact electronic limited slip differential units such as eLSD for fuel efficiency as part of vehicle electrification trend.

Composites are a class of materials that are made of two or more constituent materials having different properties. The properties of the composites are unique and different from those of the constituent materials. The constituent materials of the composites remain separate and distinct and do not blend or dissolve with each other. Two types of constituents are required to form a composite: matrix and reinforcement. The matrix keeps the reinforcement materials in their relative positions, and the reinforcement materials add value to the matrix by imparting their specific physical and mechanical properties to the matrix. The reinforcement materials are usually fibers. The composites are also referred to as reinforced plastics/polymers. Some of the constituents of composites are fiberglass, carbon fiber, aramid fibers, natural fibers (wood, flax, hemp), metal matrix, and ceramic matrix. Many composites use a polymer matrix material called a resin solution to keep the reinforcement fibers in the desired orientation.

The utilization and consumption of rechargeable batteries are growing globally, covering all major sectors like consumer electronics, energy, automotive, and telecom. With advanced technologies and developments, battery efficiency (the maximum output power with respect to size and weight) has improved dramatically. The rapid growth of the global green vehicle market in the automotive sector has fueled the sales of high-density, high-power, small-size batteries especially Li-ion batteries globally. This increase in the global rechargeable battery market has prompted companies to become knowledgeable about battery management, thereby driving the global BMS market.

Technavio defines automotive remote diagnostics or remote vehicle diagnostics as a solution that enables automation of vehicle health and diagnosis using a wireless network. Vehicle health check refers to monitoring vehicle performance by continuously checking and assessing real-time data of certain parameters. This process helps to identify any deviation against expected vehicle performance. Diagnosis refers to the investigation based on real-time vehicle data associated with vehicle performance parameter deviation and the determination of root causes of the deviation. This technology offers several business benefits to both customers and OEMs by enabling an effective vehicle health planner.

Adaptive brake lights alert drivers of the emergency brake being activated in the vehicle in front of them. The flashing of the brake lights indicates to the car behind that the emergency brakes are being activated. The brake lights are automatically activated to flash several times with different illuminating levels when the vehicle undergoes an emergency brake while traveling at a speed of over 60 km/h. The intensity of the brake lights could be enhanced through the activation of additional lights along with the car’s existing brake lights upon emergency braking. The signal can either be given through flashing of brake and hazard lights or through high-intensity brake lights (intensity higher than that during normal braking), along with the activation of hazard lights.