Reuters reported that Car maker PSA Peugeot Citroen is considering partnerships with aluminum suppliers as it tries to produce lighter vehicles.
Mr Philippe Varin managing board chairman of Peugeot said that aluminum could potentially allow the bulk of 200 kilo cut in vehicle weight being targeted by Peugeot but relatively high costs for the metal were a barrier.
Mr Varin said that the larger use of aluminum in our cars can only be achieved if we manage to build global and mutually beneficial partnerships. We are definitely considering entering into strategic supply relationships with some commodity suppliers. His group was also looking at plastics and composites.
He said that Peugeot had already developed global partnerships with car parts suppliers but did not have such ties with raw material suppliers. Europe's No 2 carmaker is looking to reduce the weight of its cars to help it comply with European carbon reduction regulations by 2020.
After the average weight of its cars rose to 1,250 kilos from 800 kilos 35 years ago, Peugeot wanted to reverse the trend by eliminating 100 kilos in each of its next two generations of models. Greater use of aluminum which currently represents about 100 kilos in the overall weight of its cars could let Peugeot cut its vehicle weight by 150 kilos.
But the car maker was looking to achieve better value for aluminum which remained more costly than steel which accounts for the majority of vehicle weight. The price difference we have today between steel and aluminum can only be overcome by a better approach of value.
Sourced from Reuters
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