The major factors that are driving changes in automotive coatings/ surface related technologies are related to eco-friendliness, fuel consumption, safety, performance and cost. OEM's demands are subsequently growing and integration of new surface functionalities is required at a minimum cost. This has lead to: (i) The development of coated AHSS (i) The development of systems with reduced metallic coating thickness (Zn-Al-Mg) with associated deposition processes (PVD) (i) The need of adjusting metal surface quality linked to new paint process applications (i) The development of new multifunctional coatings for enhanced properties in automotive Those are major challenges as coated steel is not a final product and the final properties are determined by forming, welding and the sub consequent surface treatment in the paint shop. This means that any new coating development has to take into account the impact of the process application at OEMs and the surface requirements associated to them at an early stage of the development. Major challenges are coming ahead to design coatings and engineering the surface in order to create value with thin layers, multifunctional, and of high performance. A one layer system with all functionalities (welding, forming, corrosion resistance, paintability and good finish) would certainly be a breakthrough changing the automotive coatings concepts and allowing major cost reductions. Clearly the future of automotive coatings lies on the utilization of high-end technologies such as nanotechnologies eco friendly and cost effective. In that sense, the partnership in between metal suppliers and automotive manufacturers is crucial and should start at a very early stage of the development, even at the concept phase. At a time of globalisation, new car concepts may change dramatically in the future. The car of the future will have a complete different design. For example, the integration of solar roof panels into cars is already a reality in the Toyota Prius hybrid and the Nano, a "new breed of 21st-century cars" that is smaller, lighter and cheaper. Those concepts are portending a new era in personal transportation giving the opportunity of new material designs and new coating concepts.