ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with a clear explanation of processes, systems, and systems engineering and details the automotive product development (PD) process. The automotive PD process requires many resources over several years and includes many intricate, coordinated, and costly design, evaluation, production, and assembly processes. The complex automotive product must also meet hundreds of requirements to satisfy customers, applicable government regulations, and the goals and needs of company management. An automotive product is considered as a system that involves a number of lower- level systems: the body system, the chassis system, the powertrain system, the fuel system, the electrical system, the climate control system and the braking system. The automotive PD process involves the designing and engineering of a future automotive product. An automotive PD program is initiated to modify and improve an existing vehicle design or to replace it with a totally new vehicle.
