The Auto Industry’s Worst Nightmare: Shorter Winters and Rising Temperatures Are Changing Everything | OneFootball

Global warming is having an especially negative impact on the auto industry. The irony is somewhat laughable when you consider how motor emissions are one of the top contributors of air pollution which in turn speeds up the rates at which global warming and climate change is growing.

Shorter winters impacting vehicle testing in the auto industry

Swedish automaker Volvo claimed a clear mission of “Making sure that our products are truly fit for the harshest of winter conditions,” upon the opening of its proving ground, thirty years ago in Kiruna, Sweden. Located roughly 90 miles north of the Arctic Circle, this remote land was the optimal setting for vehicle testing due to its historically long and cold winters with snowfall that lasted well through to May.

Unfortunately, it appears that this year, Volvo’s annual testing period will have to be postponed. Alternatively, the automaker could make use of subarctic cold boxes in order to replicate the icy winters of the region.

An engineering manager at Volvo, John Lundegren shared with ABC News that “The season is getting more unpredictable. You can have warm weather in the middle of the winter. What happens is the snow melts and you have icy conditions. We’ve seen the weather start to change in the last five years.”

Unexpectedly warmer winters like this can cause significant disruptions in the rollout process for automakers — mainly in the form of delays. Delays in testing can lead to delays in production and rollout of the vehicles. Vehicle testing usually includes braking, battery heating, thermal management, performance and drivability, as well as cabin heating and defrosting.

The lack of snow beds hinders brake testing and Lundgren explained “we have to wait for snowy conditions, and I don’t think we have that in the pipeline for 10 days. It impacts how efficient we can be.”

“We’re trying to develop cars faster and faster, so having this short period of time where we can do the very important winter testing affects our whole development process,” he added.

Volkswagen is facing a similar difficulty

Volkswagen, the German motor giant, has also shared in Volvo’s frustrations with the weather. The higher than normal temperatures in Sweden and Scandinavia has led to the automaker facing some difficulties with testing, according to Sven Albiecht, a chassis and drivetrain development engineer at Volkswagen.

“We need freezing conditions,” Albiecht shared. “We’re testing later and ending earlier. … The work is a little more compressed.”

Both automakers tests the vehicle’s responsiveness to the cold through means of leaving it parked overnight in a fridge like chamber. Albiecht explained that this is done so as to ensure the car doors are able to open at minus 40 degrees.

Additionally, icy or slippery roads are “essential for tuning a vehicle’s anti-lock braking system and electronic stability program,” he added.

Despite the setbacks due to the less-icy winters, Albiecht has shared that Volkswagen does not yet feel the need to change testing sites, however, they are aware that something is going on.

Scientific perspective

Erik Kjellström, a professor in climatology at the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) has noted that large parts of Sweden have recorded significantly less snow cover this year, as opposed to previous years. Additionally, the average temperature in the region has increased significantly over the last few decades and if greenhouse gas emissions persist, the average annual temperature of Sweden will increase by 2 to 6 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, according to an SMHI prediction.

“There is usually much more snow right now. It’s been rainy and slushy in northern parts of the country and the coast,” Kjellström shared. “The winter season keeps getting shorter and starting later. People are disturbed.”