Modern Technologies Supporting the Development of the Automotive Industry

The content of the paper is the application of Industry 4.0 technologies throughout the entire product life cycle in the example of the automotive industry. Particular attention was paid to the necessity but also to the difficulties of integrating various phases of the product life cycle. A model for the integration of product life cycle phases using PLM IT systems and the product structure models created by them is presented. The paper consists of 6 sections. The first one presents the factors that enable, determine and limit the use of modern technologies in the automotive sector. The second section defines and explains the concepts of product life cycle and product life cycle management. Product life cycle management is a condition for the effective and efficient solution of many problems, especially those related to sustainable development. This requires the integration of activities carried out in various phases of the product life cycle. An example of an approach to solving this problem is discussed in section three. The content of the fourth section is a “map” of the applications of Industry 4.0 technologies against the background of the car life cycle. Section five discusses the possible impact of Industry 4.0 technologies on the future development of the automotive industry. Conclusions and summary are included in section six.