The importance of vehicle testing

The automotive industry - is one of the most competitive and progressive industries. To survive in this competitive environment, you need to constantly innovate and deliver in terms of quality, durability, cost-effectiveness, etc. One misstep can have dire consequences on your operations.

Vehicle testing is A and O when it comes to producing and developing the vehicles of tomorrow. Vehicles need to handle a wide variety of different environments, road conditions, and temperatures, among other things. The engineers of today make use of highly sophisticated and innovative vehicle testing applications and tools to ensure and enhance the performance of products to be launched.

This is why vehicle testing is of the utmost importance…

Increased requirements for vehicle testing

The growing rate of innovations and new technologies, as well as the increased production rate, gives rise to both new and increased risks. New vehicles are put to the test through a wide variety of vehicle tests ranging from winter car testing on ice tracks to laboratory tests to measure emission levels and similar.

Car manufacturers seek to minimize all potential risks to:

• Ensure compliance: To be allowed to sell a vehicle on the global market, vehicles need to undergo robust testing to ensure compliance according to relevant regulations to ensure the overall safety of the vehicle and its components.

• Discover faults and issues: Vehicle testing helps identify faults and issues in the development stage to prevent faulty products and potential product recalls.

• Ensure safe technology development: As new technologies are developed it is essential they work properly to ensure the user’s safety from the get-go.

• Boost brand reputation: Testing vehicles at a vehicle testing facility will not only allow companies to iron out faults but also enhances their reputation as a provider of high-quality and safe cars.

The possible most important testing: Winter car testing

Arguably the most important, if not THE most important type of vehicle testing is winter car testing. Why? Winter, ice, snow, and low temperatures make for one of the most hazardous environments. It pushes the vehicle's capabilities and components to their utmost limits. As such, visiting a winter vehicle testing facility is of the utmost importance to ensure the vehicles can perform regardless of the environment, weather conditions, and temperature.

Most, if not all, vehicle manufacturers test their vehicles at a winter testing facility before launch to ensure their performance and identify potential issues and risks during the development stage. This may include one or all of the following:

• Emissions testing

• Cold start drivability

• Cold performance testing

• Thermal performance profiling

• Thermal protection and enhancement testing

• Durability testing

• Thermal shock testing

• Tire performance in cold environments

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