The volume of steel in the car's structure will decrease

Steel remains the main material for car manufacturing as it is cheaper than aluminum or composite materials. However, manufacturers must focus on weight in order to reduce the amount of steel and increase the use of aluminum and plastic in vehicle construction.

The use of electric motors will place completely different demands on the structure of the car. First of all, the electric drive is associated with the need to equip the car with battery packs, which are very heavy and must be located in the lower part. Thus, it is necessary to build a completely new body structure. The changes are related to the distribution of weight between the front and rear parts of the body. If the structure changes, then it will affect the manufactured parts and many other factors.

Automakers today use a mix of steel and aluminum. Going forward, they are planning a combination of steel, aluminum and plastic that will change manufacturing processes. The work can take several or even a dozen years. However, today they are thinking about what the structure of the car will be like in 20 years.

Most likely these will be hybrid structures. First of all, manufacturers will focus on reducing weight by reducing the amount of steel and increasing the use of aluminum and plastic in the car. This will change manufacturing technology. Currently, various types of welding are mainly used for joining. In the future, they will actively begin to use gluing, since welded seams cannot be used to connect steel or aluminum with plastic material.

Weight is still especially important for large cars. For example, the new generation Audi Q7 is 300 kg lighter than the previous one. The more expensive a car is, the more important the issue of weight is. This type of vehicle uses aluminum and ultra-high-strength steel. However, steel is three times cheaper than aluminum, so it will still be used to make cars.