Recently, a startup Italian car company called XEV launched a two-seat electric vehicle. When it goes into production at a plant in Jiangsu, China, next month, the LXEV will become the world’s first mass-produced printed car.
However, that low-volume niche vehicle is the exception rather than the rule. Most cars and trucks still rely on thousands of metal and plastic parts that are produced using traditional casting, forging, injection molding, machining and stamping processes.