Automotive Industry's Circularity Applications and Industry 4.0

A linear flow of materials and energy is not feasible to maintain if industries are meant to be sustainable. In an effort to embrace sustainability, automobile companies are shifting from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles and embracing Industry 4.0 technologies. A solution to the linear flow of materials is the Circular economy. This paper aims to examine the automotive industry’s circular economy initiatives under Industry 4.0. To understand the circularity efforts and initiatives across the industry to reduce the knowledge gap. The Automotive industry was selected since it is responsible for a significant portion of the anthropogenic environmental impacts, with 14% of all direct and indirect emissions, with a 2% annual increase since 1990. A qualitative descriptive analysis of the top 10 automotive companies on the global fortune 500 list was conducted to assess their level of circularity based on a framework presented by the authors. The findings include that all companies are shifting to EVs, 50% have evidence of level 1 initiatives, and 90% have evidence of level 2 initiatives