There is a financial crisis in the World automotive industry due to weaker demand of cars and other automobiles. A recent study conducted by Standard & Poor forecasts sales of passenger cars from almost 39 million number in 2000 to only about 42.5 million cars by 2005 and thereby projecting only just about two percentage average growth over the same period. Another study conducted in 1999 by another well-known consulting organization predicts the usage of Plastics in cars from almost 5.5 million tonnes to just below six million tonnes by 2005. Has the market of plastics in automobile become mature? Or will the cost benefit provided by plastics using better technologies, enhance their potential market? While there is no consensus among the pundits of the industry? Let us review which are the applications that can revive the hopes of growth in the next few years.

	Bumpers - New design based on HDPE tubes for Controlled Energy Management that received the SPE 2000 award could replace more expensive PP energy absorber.
	Plastic/Metal Hybrid technology take the advantage of ease of injection moulding of plastics with metal-pressing and increased opportunity of the usage of plastics in exterior body parts.
	Tailgates - Newer developments are expected to increase the usage of plastics in tailgates.
	Elimination of paint by use of in-mould decoration of plastics; although seems to be more difficult to exploit, cannot be completely ruled out.
	Replacement of window glass/glazing with Polycarbonate, if successfully developed, could increase the usage of plastics
	Increasing usage of HDPE fuel tanks in place of steel is a distinct possibility. It is expected to meet the stringent requirements of environmental authorities on fuel losses by evaporation.

Plastics have an inherent advantage of cost saving. In the present weak markets the automobile industry is expected to increasingly look at the cost advantage and therefore look at increasing the usage of plastics.