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.