Steel vs. Aluminum: Introduction

With over 16 million tons per year of steel applied to the automotive market in North America, the steel industry remains one of the most critical supply bases for the almost 18 million vehicles produced per year for the Americas. Steel has always played a significant role in automotive production, from the inception of the automobile at the turn of the century, to the advanced ultra-high strength grades proposed for the cars of tomorrow. This is for good reason; steel combines the best attributes from every avenue that can be applied to an optimally designed automotive body. Its inherent mechanical properties provide ideal conditions for optimal crashworthiness, superior formability, and weldability.

Steel sheet remains in a league of its own, with up to a 3 times cost savings over the application of aluminum sheet, when applied to high volume vehicle body structures and closures. Thus, steel is here to stay, with its well-balanced cost to performance ratio.

Ultra Light Steel Autobody - Advanced Vehicle Concept		Aluminum Space Frame Concept

The aluminum industry, capitalizing on manufacturers weight reduction goals, has made temporary in-roads in capturing closure applications from the traditional steel grades. Global initiatives, such as the Ultra Light Steel Autobody – Advanced Vehicle Concept, when compared to the aluminum industry's future Space Frame and Conventional Stamping Concepts, show the true benefits of steel

The facts speak for themselves. From stamping and manufacturing, to overall vehicle performance – steel is the true engineering material of choice for automotive body construction.

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