Abstract The automotive industry is facing on-going challenges to improve the sustainability of its manufacturing processes and vehicle emission. Policies are one of the main drivers towards low-carbon manufacturing. In this work, the UK regulations in terms of environment, energy-efficiency and resources management and the ISO Standards concerning the automotive sector have been identified and described. The environmental benefits obtained in terms of energy consumption, waste production, water consumption, and air quality by a more efficient vehicle production for the UK manufacturers are presented. Current thermal energy management practice and strategies to increase the energy efficiency of the automotive manufacturing process are described. It is concluded that manufacturing processes and plants are both in need of modifications to achieve low-carbon manufacturing and produce low or zero emission vehicles.