Automotive Experiences

Crashworthiness is a critical requirement for lightweight structures in automotive, electric vehicle and aerospace applications, where efficient energy absorption and controlled force transmission are essential. This review looks at more than 100 experimental, numerical, and analytical studies published between 2013 and 2025. It focuses on how materials, geometry, manufacturing processes, and loading conditions work together to affect the crashworthiness of thin-walled structures. Using a PRISMA inspired systematic narrative review combined with bibliometric and thematic analyses, key performance metrics: peak crushing force (PCF), mean crushing force (MCF), energy absorption (EA), specific energy absorption (SEA) and crushing force efficiency (CFE) are evaluated across metals, polymers, composites and hybrid systems, as well as non-tapered, tapered geometries under quasi-static and dynamic loading. The reviewed studies show that crashworthiness is best improved through a good combination of material, geometry, manufacturing quality and loading conditions. Hybrid structures are particularly promising, but their performance depends heavily on the interface quality, shape, and testing conditions.