Aluminium makers to cash in on India’s car boom

By Gena Paul

NEW DELHI (Commodity Online): Even as more and more car makers are queuing up to set up shop in India, eyeing the lucrative market in the sub-continent, aluminium producers are also waiting to cash in on the car boom.

In almost all modern cars aluminium is a very important metal as all producers bank on the metal to reduce the weight of the vehicle.

German luxury carmaker BMW has confirmed that it is gearing up to launch the sixth-generation 5 Series sedan, which will be available with a host of new technologies, new engines and an optional 8-speed automatic transmission. The refurbished 5-series is expected by July this year in India and is speculated to sport a price tag of Rs 45-55 lakh. Like the current generation, the 2010 version of the aforesaid model will also be assembled at its Chennai plant, with CKD kits being imported from its pent company’s Dingolfing plant in Germany.

BMW 5 Series sedan is based on a newly developed vehicle architecture also featured in the BMW 7 Series luxury sedans. The new BMW 5 Series Sedan is making its debut with one eight-cylinder and three six-cylinder petrol engines as well as two six-cylinder diesels. The range is rounded off by a four-cylinder turbodiesel with an aluminium crankcase and common-rail direct injection.

So aluminium is a very important metal in the production of the car.

Meanwhile, Novelis announced that it has been selected as the main supplier of aluminium sheet for the redesigned Audi A8 luxury sedan. Audi has long been a pioneer in incorporating lightweight design into its vehicles and is taking this to a new level with the aluminium-intensive A8. The latest model, which was recently unveiled, will use Novelis Fusion technology to achieve weight savings not previously possible in automotive structural components.

Novelis has entered into an agreement with Audi for the supply of the aluminium sheet that will be used for a number of outer panels and design-critical structural components.

The outer panels are the hood, deck lid, doors and the roof. The structural components include the complete floor tunnel and various reinforcements.

The agreement extends the long-running relationship between the car manufacturer and Novelis, which is widely recognized as a global leader in the production of aluminium sheet for the automotive sector. Novelis will supply specially treated 6000 series automotive sheet as well as its Novelis Fusion AS250 sheet. Novelis Fusion is an innovative, patented, multi layer aluminium technology that Novelis has dubbed. The new aluminium because it offers performance benefits that are not achievable with conventional aluminium.