The U.S. Auto Industry is a Leader in Research & Development

Automakers and their suppliers are the world’s third biggest investor in R&D. 

Designing and producing autos is a massive engineering challenge, which is why automakers and their suppliers invest approximately $130 billion in R&D each year – behind only pharmaceuticals and technology hardware.

 

 

American Automakers are Leaders in Research & Development and Innovation

In the U.S., automakers and their suppliers invested approximately $23 billion in 2018, representing approximately $1,333 of R&D for each car sold here that year, on average.

Over the past decade, automaker R&D has driven braking technology from anti-lock brakes (which help a driver brake faster) to electronic stability control (which keeps a vehicle moving safely when the driver has lost control), to automated emergency steering systems (which control braking, steering, and throttle functions)

Meanwhile, research into the use of new materials, better joining (welding, fasteners, adhesives), and fabrication could reduce a vehicle’s body weight by 10% to 20% from 2014 through 2020.

FCA, Ford, and General Motors each spend more per year than General Electric, Boeing, AT&T, and Tesla.

 

 

 

  • Holy cargo capacity! It's Batman's Ford F-150

    If the Bat Cave ever needed remodeling, the Caped Crusader would have a tough time fitting plywood and plaster into the Batmobile. Instead, he might want to use this customized Ford pickup. Called the Crime Fighter, it will be shown at this week's Comic-Con convention in San Diego.

    The most surprising thing about the Crime Fighter, which looks pretty much like a Ford (F, Fortune 500) F-150 in a Batmobile costume, is that you can actually buy one for yourself. Galpin Auto Sports of Los Angeles will build one for anyone who's willing to pay an additional $30,000, over the cost of an F-150. New F-150s range in price from about $25,000 to over $50,000 plus options.

  • Mopar's Johnson Earns No.1 Qualifier for Second Consecutive Year at Norwalk

    July 6, 2013 , Norwalk, Ohio - Mopar’s Pro Stock driver and defending NHRA world champion, Allen Johnson has earned his first No.1 qualifier honor of the 2013 season in the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Avenger at the seventh annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.

    Johnson’s second top qualifier position at the Norwalk track in consecutive years was posted with an elapsed time pass of 6.592 seconds (209.75 mph) on his second qualifying run in Friday evening’s unseasonably cool track conditions, a time that held through two more qualifying sessions on Saturday in warmer and more humid conditions, to give him his 29th career pole position. 

  • Ford invents new stamping technology

    Ford Motor Co. says it has used a federal grant to develop a first-of-its-kind stamping technology that will allow it to create low-volume auto parts at essentially no cost.

    Dubbed Ford Freeform Fabrication Technology, the process — created at the automaker’s Research and Innovation Center — could soon allow consumers to customize bodywork on new vehicles, all while eliminating the high cost and wait that comes with engineering a stamping die.