While the very beginning of the process that leads from initial design concept to vehicles rolling off a production line may still be pencil sketches on paper, the trail very quickly becomes digital as design information is embodied in a 3D computer aided design (CAD) modelling system. This data then feeds into every downstream process from development to production and on-road use in the holistic but still digitally-driven concept of product lifecycle management (PLM). 

New CAD/PLM technologies with the potential to exert a huge influence on vehicle development projects are continuing to appear and vehicle-makers are now looking closely at the opportunities they may offer. 

In the US, back in July of this year, Volkswagen unveiled a vehicle that was both very familiar in its general appearance but also futuristic in some of the detail of its content…