Lighter Vehicles Spell Better Gas Mileage
Steel, aluminum and composite makers are vying to get more of their materials into cars and trucks.
The next car you buy will probably be lighter, courtesy of federal mandates to increase average gas mileage by 30% to 40% over the next five years. Automakers figure the easiest and cheapest way to cut fuel consumption is to make passenger cars, which now weigh about 3,500 pounds on average, about 400 pounds lighter.
Under Uncle Sam’s new rules, the current 27.5 miles per gallon minimum for passenger cars will jump to 33.8 mpg for 2012 models and 39.5 mpg for 2016 models. A similar phased-in approach for light trucks will require them to average 29.8 mpg for 2016 models.
The upshot: Heated competition between steel and aluminum manufacturers for a larger slice of the lucrative pie. Aluminum makers have a weighty advantage and are aiming to use it to muscle out steel for use in vehicle roofs and other body panels, engines and structural components.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Be a smarter, better informed investor.
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Manufacturers such as Alcoa, Rio Tinto Alcan and Novelis are developing aluminum products with greater strength to better stand up to the everyday dings that cars pick up in parking lots and elsewhere, as well as specialty versions for use in bumpers that crumple to absorb the force of a collision. The aluminum industry is honing its strategy to win a large chunk of the plug-in electric car market that will take off within five years.
Steelmakers are fighting back with a lighter generation of high-strength steel.Thanks to research stretching back 20 years, automotive steel today weighs around 25% less than it did during the heyday of muscle cars in the 1960s and 1970s. Automakers including Ford routinely use this steel in key structural components in auto body pillars and panels.
Now steelmakers are on the cusp of commercializing a breakthrough product that is not only 10% lighter yet, but stronger and more easily molded. “This third-generation product will enable us to make auto parts that are much lighter than today because the steel can be made thinner with no compromise in strength,” says Ronald Krupitzer, a vice president for automotive applications with the American Iron and Steel Institute, a trade group.
Down the road, look for steel and aluminum to be challenged by an even-lighter-weight contender -- composite carbon fiber. Long used in aerospace and for pricey bicycles and tennis rackets, the pricey material has been finding its way into exotic cars such as Chevrolet’s Corvette ZR-1.
Odds are the price differential between carbon fiber and aluminum and steel will narrow by decade’s end, thanks in part to research and development at the Department of Energy’s laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and at Magna International, Canada’s largest automotive parts supplier.
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.
-
Will AI Videos Disrupt Social Media?The Kiplinger Letter With the introduction of OpenAI’s new AI social media app, Sora, the internet is about to be flooded with startling AI-generated videos.
-
What Services Are Open During the Government Shutdown?The Kiplinger Letter As the shutdown drags on, many basic federal services will increasingly be affected.
-
The Economy on a Knife's EdgeThe Letter GDP is growing, but employers have all but stopped hiring as they watch how the trade war plays out.
-
Banks Are Sounding the Alarm About StablecoinsThe Kiplinger Letter The banking industry says stablecoins could have a negative impact on lending.
-
Apple Readies for AI Upgrade with New iPhonesThe Kiplinger Letter The tech giant has stumbled when it comes to artificial intelligence, but a new batch of iPhones will help it make headway.
-
Japan Enters a New Era of Risk and ReformThe Kiplinger Letter Japan has entered a pivotal moment in its economic history, undertaking ambitious policy and structural reforms to escape from decades of stagnation.
-
How Consumers Are Tinkering with Cutting-Edge AIThe Kiplinger Letter Companies launching artificial intelligence tools are jostling for consumer attention. Some products are already building a deep connection with users.
-
After Years of Stagnant Growth, Hope Emerges for EU EconomyThe Kiplinger Letter Can a German fiscal push outweigh French political peril?

