Within the next decade, a large portion of the U.S. Army’s huge fleet of vehicles could run on battery power. In fact, the Pentagon plans to acquire more than 92,000 electric vehicles by 2020.
Agricultural engineers around the world are developing robotic tractors. Autonomous vehicles equipped with state-of-the-art computers, lasers, sensors, GPS systems and machine vision technology are closer to reality than most people realize.
Electric vehicles promise to transform the automotive landscape. But, don’t expect to see too many differences in assembly plants as automakers start ramping up production.
Automakers and suppliers are scrambling to produce key electromechanical components, such as axles, controllers, steering sytems and climate-control systems.