Aluminium and Aluminium Alloys Usage in Passenger Cars

For many years the biggest end-use market for aluminium has been the transportation sector with a major share of it going into car manufacturing. There has therefore been a long history of co-operation between the car industry and the aluminium industry.

The car producers’ continual efforts to reduce car weight are furthered by aluminium developments. Weight reduction is not only based on the need to reduce emissions by requiring less fuel, but also on the need to meet consumer demands, since the trend for new options and safety equipment, such as air-conditioning, anti lock brakes, airbags etc. combined with the increasing popularity of light trucks as substitutes for conventional cars, is actually making vehicles heavier.

Accordingly, the forecast for the amount of aluminium used in each car is set to increase from about 100 kg in 2000 to 150 kg in the year 2005.

Source: European Aluminium Association.

For more information on this source please visit European Aluminium Association.