One of the key styling differences between EVs and gas-powered vehicles is the lack of a requirement for a traditional front grille feature. Without the need for the cooling effect of air flow through the engine compartment, EVs provide stylists with additional design ‘real estate’ for features such as lighting and branding in the area on the front of the vehicle traditionally associated with the grille. It is no surprise that designers have been keen to harness ADS’s experience in lighting, light diffusion, and 3D surfaces in the new-found design freedom that this creates.

The challenge for ADS has been the scale of the components required. At its most basic this has driven the company to develop the ability to thermoform pieces which are three or four times larger than its more traditional components. Additional challenges have included the need to make parts which are robust enough to be deployed on the exterior of the vehicle and which successfully manage the intensity of the light that a car’s headlamps emit.

With a number of such EV programs already in production, and more in development, ADS is leading the way in large format thermoforming applications for vehicle exteriors.