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.