When you build a $400,000 supercar like the upcoming second generation Ford GT, you can bet you twin turbochargers it’s going to have its fair share of carbon fiber in the build process. The material offers a number of advantages over many of the traditional materials used in vehicle construction – most notably its strength and comparative light weight, which is why its first automotive uses were largely confined to race car applications. It’s also very expensive, which is also why its first automotive uses were largely confined to race car applications.

Over the past few years, production costs in carbon fiber have gone down substantially, and that trend is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. So while only the most exotic offerings from an auto manufacturer might be using the material extensively at the moment, it’s only a matter of time until we see carbon fiber trickle make its way down the totem pole to more pedestrian models.

Ford in particular has pledged to make their cars significantly lighter over the next few years, as evidenced by the all-new 2015 F150, which uses aluminum body panels rather than traditional steel – a controversial move that ended up saving some 700 pounds of curb weight in certain configurations of the pickup.

More evidence of Ford’s commitment to light weight materials came late last week when the automaker penned a deal with carbon fiber manufacturer DowAksa to start a joint venture to explore more extensive use of carbon fiber in “high volume” applications.

“Automotive manufacturers’ use of carbon fiber composites has been hindered by the absence of both high-volume manufacturing methods and affordable material formats,” DowAksa Vice Chairman Mehmet Ali Berkman said in Ford’s statement. “This partnership combines the individual strengths of each company to target these challenges.”

Does this mean the next Mustang and Focus models could roll out of the showroom sporting a lot more carbon fiber than they do now? The answer is almost certainly yes.