Display omitted •The state-of-art of lightweight materials for automobiles is reviewed.•Representative materials are introduced with potential automotive applications, particularly on electric vehicles.•Given the recent advances in manufacturing, modeling, and characterization, both pros and cons of materials are summarized.•Solutions for future challenges are highlighted by developing advanced materials and/or improving the manufacturing. The growing challenges on fuel economy improvement and greenhouse gas emission control have become the driving force for automakers to produce lightweight automobiles. Also, the weight reduction may contribute to superior recyclability and/or vehicle performance (e.g., improved driving economy, braking behaviors, and crashworthiness). One effective strategy is to develop and implement lightweight yet high-performance materials as alternative solutions for conventional automotive materials such as cast iron and steel. Herein, a systematic review of available lightweight materials to produce next-generation automobiles is provided, including light alloys, high-strength steels, composites, and advanced materials in the ongoing research. By investigating the entire life cycle of automotive materials, physical/mechanical properties, characterization, manufacturing techniques, and potential applications of specific lightweight materials are discussed. Both the advantages and drawbacks of the reviewed materials are summarized, yielding the appropriate application scenarios for different lightweight materials. Given the future challenges, on expectations, the development of versatile advanced materials or improvement of the manufacturing/treatment techniques can be rather promising to resolve the possible bottlenecks and, in turn, enables more capable, safer, durable, and environmental-friendly vehicles.