The future for steel in the automotive market

The automotive industry has long been introducing new requirements and regulations. This is especially true of the impact of the car on the environment. Even the standards for gas emissions are becoming more stringent. Significant progress has been made over the past 17 years. But even more will be needed: In 2021-2030, carbon dioxide emissions should be reduced by 30%, or 29 grams per kilometer.

And the way to achieve this goal leads, among other things, to reduce the weight of cars. Therefore, steel in the automotive industry began to replace aluminum. But according to ArcelorMittal analysts, steel, which has lost its market share in favor of aluminum in recent years, will make up for the losses. ArcelorMittal believes it still has a lot to come. Of course, keeping in mind her modern types.

Here, progress is noticeable: over the past 20 years, the weight of the car's steel frame has decreased by 30%. At the same time, thanks to the new properties of steel, the passive level of vehicle safety has increased. In cheaper models, steel still beats aluminum.

The most important signal that automakers are returning to steel appears to be Audi's declaration that the A8's structure will be predominantly steel. Let the significance of this statement be determined by the fact that the previous generation of the German company's cars had aluminum body frames.