Making cars that are lightweight and crash-safe

The auto industry needs to have a rethink: having turned out ever heavier cars year on year, in future vehicles will have to be lighter with lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. If auto makers do not dramatically reduce the average CO2 emissions of their cars, they will face hefty fines. That was determined by the European Commission in a new piece of legislation. One way to achieve a major cut in fuel consumption is through lightweight construction – in other words, cars have to slim down. But this must not jeopardize the safety of vehicle occupants – and that is a big challenge for auto designers, who are faced with the task of fulfilling these contrasting requirements. Vehicle bodies until now have consisted largely of a homogenous sheet steel structure with constant component sheet thicknesses. Components that are subject to particularly strong local stresses are often oversized, because the wall strength has to be designed to withstand the highest local stress point. This means that the sheet thickness is greater than needed in areas that are subject to less stress, making components unnecessarily heavy. Moreover, automakers use lots of expensive, high-strength steel sheets. At present, then, compromises are constantly being made between component weight, component cost, and crash safety.

Further information: cordis.europa.eu