Automotive - American Chemistry Council

Silicones play a crucial role in various aspects of automobile manufacturing and maintenance, thanks to their unique properties.

Globally, 165,000 tons of silicone products are used in the transportation sector annually, which includes automotive, marine, aviation, and aerospace industries.

The world’s automotive industry uses silicones to make transportation more efficient, safer, and more reliable. Silicone components contribute to weight reduction in automobiles, which results in increased fuel efficiency and lower emissions of pollutants.

Silicones are used in a wide range of car parts including: airbags, engine gaskets, headlamps, hydraulic bearings, ignition cables, radiator seals and hoses, shock absorbers, spark plug boots, and ventilation flaps.

Silicones help provide cushioning, providing load bearing and protective shock absorption qualities to car seats, dashboards and automotive interiors.

Silicones can help reduce the buildup of dirt and film, and reduce attachment of marine organisms to the ship’s hull, helping to improve fuel efficiency. In doing so, silicones also reduce the need for repairs and maintenance for ocean-going vessels as well as shipping barges and boats on our inland waterways.

Silicone release coatings are also used as release agents to allow tire manufacturers to get the tires out of their manufacturing molds and silicone rubber is used in many tires to provide long wear life and superior traction.

Silicone adhesives also are resistant to humidity and temperatures, so they are good for users where there might be environmental extremes, like tapes that need to adhere to outside surfaces or in the hot engine compartment of a car.