Alcoa surges on Toyota's aluminum plans

Toyota along with Alcoa Inc "will use more aluminum instead of steel in the bodies of luxury automobiles starting in 2017 to reduce their weight, which translates to better mileage," according to Nikkei Asian Review.

The report indicated that the "automaker will make the switch for the hoods, bumpers, doors and fenders of its Lexus vehicles when they are remodeled. It currently uses aluminum for the hoods and other parts of its Prius hybrid and some Lexus models."

"Toyota plans to invest several billion yen to set up assembly lines exclusively for aluminum parts at a plant outside Nagoya and elsewhere.

"The move is expected to shave up to 100kg from the weight of a vehicle. If a 1- to 1.5-ton gasoline-powered car is lightened by 100kg, its fuel efficiency is estimated to improve by about 1km per liter. Based solely on weight, the Lexus LS and GS would be able to run 500 meters to 700 meters more per liter," according to Nikkei.

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