More Korean car makers use aluminium to reduce vehicle weight

As the global car industry is going greener, South Korean carmakers are working on making car bodies as light as possible to guarantee higher fuel efficiency, meaning less greenhouse gas emissions.

Kia Motors Corp. said Thursday that it used aluminium made by U.S.-based leading automotive aluminium maker Novelis Inc. for its new hybrid utility vehicle Niro slated for launch next week in the car’s hood and tailgate in an effort to reduce the overall weight of the car. Its sister company Hyundai Motor Co. also used aluminium for its first dedicated hybrid IONIQ. The Korean car makers hope to improve fuel efficiency and lower emissions by using aluminium, which is known to weigh one-third of steel, in their cars.

Hybrid cars are usually heavier than gasoline-run cars because they are fitted in with additional hybrid systems like batteries and electric motors. However, IONIQ’s engineers used aluminium in the hood and tailgate, cutting its weight by 12.4 kilograms compared to the conventional steel option, to weigh 1,380 kilograms (based on 15-inch wheels).

Increasingly, aluminium is recognized as a key automotive material to weight reduction in the global auto industry. Ducker Worldwide, LLC, U. S. -based consulting agency, expected that by 2025, aluminium should be used in 75 percent of new pick-up trucks made in Northern America, with its demand spiking up to 1,814,000 tons from 90,000 tons in 2012.

Copyright and Exemption Declaration :¢ÙAll articles, pictures and videos that are marked with "China Aluminum Network" on this website are copyright and belong to China Aluminium Network (www.alu.com.cn). When transshipment, any media, website or individual must list the source from "China Aluminium Network (www.alu.com.cn)". We seek legal actions against anyone that disobey this. ¢ÚArticles that marked as copy from others are for transferring more information to readers, do not represent or endorse their opinions or accuracy and reliability. When other media, website or individuals copy from our website, must keep the source. Anyone that changes the articles' sources will hold the responsibilities for copyright and law problems. We also seek legal actions against anyone that disobey this. ¢ÛIf any articles copied by our website concern the copyright and other problems, please contact us within one week.