Car maker PSA Peugeot Citroen is considering partnerships with aluminium suppliers as it tries to produce lighter vehicles, its top executive said。
Aluminium could potentially allow the bulk of a 200 kilo cut in vehicle weight being targeted by Peugeot but relatively high costs for the metal were a barrier, Philippe Varin, Peugeot's managing board chairman, told the Metal Bulletin aluminium conference in Paris.
"The larger use of aluminium in our cars can only be achieved if we manage to build global and mutually beneficial partnerships," he said.
"We are definitely considering entering into strategic supply relationships with some suppliers," he said, adding his group was also looking at plastics and composites.
Peugeot had already developed global partnerships with car parts suppliers but did not have such ties with raw material suppliers, he said.
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, he said.
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, he said.
Greater use of aluminium, which currently represents about 100 kilos in the overall weight of its cars, could let Peugeot cut its vehicle weight by 150 kilos, he said.
But the car maker was looking to achieve better value for alumnium, which remained more costly than steel, which accounts for the majority of vehicle weight, he said.
"The price difference we have today between steel and aluminium can only be overcome by a better approach of value."
Using aluminium also involved substantial investments in adapting production lines, he added.
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