European Automakers To Increase Use Of Aluminum – Brief Article
The amount of aluminum used in European cars is growing, with latest vehicles launched by three French carmakers all having engine hoods made of the metal, French metal producer Pechiney Automotive said.
“The Peugeot 307, the Renault Laguna II and the Citroen C5 all have an aluminum hood – a first for mass-produced vehicles in Europe,” France’s Pechiney said. Pechiney supplies all the sheeting for the hoods, and aims to deliver sheets for one million hoods this year.
Future uses for aluminum in mass-produced cars include engine blocks, rear axles, wheel rims and crash absorbers, as well as conventional applications in cylinder heads, pistons, and radiators. “Whereas the average European car contains 198 lbs of aluminum the new models contain from 265 to 353 lbs, which represents 10 to 11 percent of their total weight. This prefigures the average aluminum content of 276 lbs per vehicle that is expected in Europe by 2005,” Pechiney said.
Using aluminum enables overall weight to be reduced, leading to reduced fuel consumption and pollution levels – 331 lbs of aluminum used in a vehicle represents an equivalent weight saving, reducing fuel consumption by 0.43 gallons per 100 miles.
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COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group
