Third-generation steel: Driving into the future

The automobile, and the automotive sector overall, is changing fast. It’s not simply the design and engineering or the wide array of technologies coming into the car; the change goes far deeper – what exactly is a car, what does it do, who wants one and what do they want?

Any number of dynamics showcase the velocity of change: Declining ownership rates that will be accelerated by the next generation car user; self-assist technologies transitioning to self-driving modes; internal combustion engines shifting to long-haul electric vehicles (EVs); and the car-as-performance to the car-as-experience combined to bring an entirely new fleet of vehicles and experiences to the curbside.

The future points to a class of EV-utility cars able to overcome range and charge anxiety while delivering superior experiences with ramped-up safety features that can withstand the shift from self-assist to self-driving cars.

This is where advanced high-strength steel becomes intrinsic to the future of automobiles. These steels are already replacing key components of auto bodies.

These lightweighting efforts, driven by the Auto/Steel Partnership, are reframing what an EV-utility car can be and do.

Third-generation steel: Driving into the future explores the history, status and future of these critical lightweighting efforts and their impact on the supply chains that feed these efforts.