It is well established that light-weighting of automotive parts leads to reduced carbon emissions over vehicle lifetime. Mineral fibres and fillers have a relatively high density and may require high levels of energy in their production, resulting in a large carbon footprint. Natural fibres have been identified as a potential candidate to substitute mineral fillers in automotive application of thermoplastic matrix composites. This paper focuses on the characterisation of the mechanical and thermal degradation of two types of natural fibres (date palm and coir fibres) as part of an evaluation of their potential for the substitution of high density mineral fillers with more environmentally friendly lower density natural fibre reinforcements
