New DuAlumin-3D alloy could unlock stronger 3D-printed aluminium engine parts
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have advanced the use of DuAlumin-3D for high-temperature automotive components, opening new possibilities for stronger, lighter 3D-printed aluminium parts in engines and beyond. Aluminium has long been attractive for automotive components because it...
India banks propose priority lending for EV charging and e-fleets
India’s public-sector banks have proposed putting electric vehicles, charging networks, battery-swapping infrastructure and climate-transition projects into a clearer priority-sector lending framework. The plan could direct more formal credit toward the systems needed to scale electric mobility,...
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Siemens and BAIC join forces to produce high efficient electric powertrain systems for NEVs
Siemens AG, a global player in the field of electric drivetrains and Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co., Ltd. (BAIC), one of the major Chinese carmakers, will join efforts to bring further green automotive drive-technologies to the China market. The two companies signed a joint venture at the...
Ford’s Aluminum Recycling plan saves nearly $125 on every 2015 F-150
When Ford announced earlier this year that its new F-150 would employ aluminum for the majority of it’s construction, speculation that insurance, repair, and manufacturing costs would increase began to circulate almost immediately. We investigated the first two concerns at the time, finding them to...
3M adhesive approved for aluminum Ford F-150 bonding
Ford Motor Company has approved 3M Panel Bonding Adhesive (PN08115) and the 3M File Belt Sander for repairs to the new Ford F150 aluminum components. “In order to make sure that repairs to the new truck were straight-forward and reasonable for mainstream collision repair facilities, Ford engineers...
General Motors’ Magnesium alloy VSC machine completes first trial run
General Motors and the GM China Advanced Technical Center in Shanghai announced today the first trial run of the facility’s new Vertical Squeeze Casting machine, the first of its kind in the world designed for developing next-generation magnesium castings. GM says the VSC machine will make it...
Wanfeng Auto partners with Chongqing Dongsheng to make aluminium wheels
Zhejiang Wanfeng Auto Wheel Co. is setting up a joint venture with Chongqing Dongsheng Aluminium Industry Co. to make 3 million aluminium alloy wheels a year. Registered capital for the jv company to be located in Chongqing is 200 million yuan ($32 million) while total investment for the wheel...
Jaguar Land Rover invests 45 mn pounds for Halewood plant’s new press line
Jaguar Land Rover, a company owned by Tata Motors, has invested 45 mn pounds in a new press line at the Halewood Operations in England in a bid to speed up the delivery of the vehicles of the company globally. The new line comprises of a combined press having a stamping capacity of 7,900 tons and...
UC RUSAL and Omen sign shareholder agreement to create joint venture
UC RUSAL, a leading, global aluminium producer, and Israeli company Omen High Pressure Die Casting (“Omen”), a specialist producer of automotive components from non-ferrous metals, announce the signing of a shareholder agreement to create a joint venture to produce automotive components. The joint...
Automotive sector takes positive steps towards sustainibility
Given its heavy reliance on raw material and legislative duties that place emphasis on the reuse and recycling of end-of-life vehicles, Europe's automotive industry is perfectly positioned to accelerate the agenda around closed-loop thinking. Renault's Choisy-le-Roi factory has been pumping out...
Monthly Index belies LME aluminum price forecast, premiums
The monthly Aluminum MMI® registered a value of 89 in March, on par with February’s value. The 3-month LME price closed the month of February at $1,765 per metric ton; a small bounce from the record lows registered at the beginning of the month. Most analysts are optimistic with the future role of...
Audi biggest models to be biggest losers
The Audi A8 limousine and Audi Q7 SUV, the German brand’s biggest models, will lose significant weight for their next-generation models. Audi has confirmed the A8 will partly use the hybrid carbonfibre and aluminium construction being used by the new Lamborghini Huracan and its R8 supercar twin due...
Aluminum, steel demand at Risk if Honda, Ford cut back auto production
Steel – and, increasingly – aluminum demand could be hit this quarter if automakers cut back on production. Auto inventory levels have soared over recent months as frigid temperatures and winter storms in the past six weeks have slowed retail sales and showroom traffic, Reuters reported in a recent...
Carbon-Aluminium hybrids to be a part of next generation Audis
Radical new carbon-fibre as well as aluminium’s hybrid pieces will soon be a part of the upcoming full generation of Audis. Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, Audi’s engineering boss, admitted that the new technology almost ready to debut in public in the Lamborghini Huracan at Geneva Motor Show next week, is...
Large Ford stores say cost of aluminum body shop will surpass $70,000
Michigan Ford dealer Ed Joliffe has been calculating the cost of getting his body shop ready for the 2015 aluminum F-150 pickup, and finds the numbers sobering. "It's going to cost anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000. That's a hell of a chunk," says Joliffe, who owns Gorno Ford in suburban Detroit....
Rio Tinto Alcan teams up with NRC to expand use of aluminium in vehicles
Rio Tinto Alcan Inc, Canadian aluminium producer has signed a 5-year partnership with National Research Council of Canada (NRC) to expand aluminium use in light vehicles & trains. “We see that the demand in the automotive market will be growing within the next few years, so we want to find new ways...
Bonnell Aluminum begins production on New Extrusion Line dedicated to automotive
Bonnell Aluminum, a subsidiary of Tredegar Corporation (TG), announced today that its new extrusion line has begun production, and the volume ramp-up is progressing as planned. “We are excited about our early entry to the automotive industry, at a time when fuel efficiency standards are driving...
Steel Industry concerned about automakers move towards the aluminum industry
For nearly a century, Ford’s River Rouge factory and its neighboring steel mill have worked in close harmony to produce some of America’s most popular vehicles, from the Model A to the F-150 pickup truck. But ever since Ford announced last month that it would make the body of its new F-150 mostly...
Alcoa Reaches Power Agreement to Improve Competitiveness of Québec Smelters
Alcoa and the Government of Québec have reached an agreement to improve the competitiveness of Alcoa’s three smelters in Québec, securing approximately 3,000 jobs. Under the agreement, Hydro-Québec will renew Alcoa’s power supply contracts for the Becancour and Deschambault facilities until 2030...
GM moves toward aluminum pickups in 2018
General Motors' executives insist they're not sweating Ford's 2015 aluminum F-150. They say they'll counter with redesigned mid-sized pickups and are working on updates to GM's freshly redesigned full-sized pickups. And it appears they'll be slinging plenty of aluminum of their own -- in about five...
