US car manufacturers will use more aluminum to save gasoline

According to the forecasts of the largest aluminum producer in North America, Novelis Inc., in the next 12 months, it is expected that the consumption of aluminum will exceed the consumption of this metal by European colleagues. This forecast is associated with the production of new car models.

Ford Motor is one of the automakers who resort to the replacement of heavy steel elements of the body with lighter aluminum. According to BarClays PLC, the use of lighter metal in the design of vehicles annually increases by about 5%. About 350 thousand tons of aluminum sheet are required to manufacture cars of car bodies annually, from which Novelis produces 250 thousand tons. Americans import the missing volumes from other countries.

In new models of American -made vehicles, the share of aluminum increased due to the tightening of corporate standards for savings gasoline , which limit its consumption and help reduce emissions that pollute the environment. In Europe, over the past 5 years, the leaders in this area have been such automakers as Volkswagen, Audi and Daimler. This was stated by Erwin Mayer, who serves as president of Novelis Europe. To date, this trend is also supported by the largest North American manufacturers. By 2020, the average use of aluminum in one car will be 352 pounds (160 kg), last year this indicator was equal to 308 pounds (140 kg).

According to the calculations of the Ford F-150 pickup specialists, it contains 1000 pounds of metal elements and parts, when replacing with aluminum components, the total weight of metal parts can be reduced to 650 pounds. In addition, some cars of the car are already completely made of aluminum, for example, the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray can boast of it.