Several vehicle makers use aluminium. Many use aluminium for various exterior body panels, while on some vehicles, others use aluminium extrusions for the entire structure. Recently, new vehicles with more of a performance-based attitude have been introduced with aluminium used for the structure. Let’s look at the reasons why aluminium is used for designing these vehicles and at some of the vehicles.
There are several reasons vehicle makers use aluminium. Some of the more common reasons are that aluminium:
is lightweight. Lighter weight material can help contribute to quicker vehicle acceleration and shorter stopping distances.
has excellent corrosion resistance.
is almost 100% recyclable.
One of the main reasons for using aluminium in performance vehicles is safety. Performance vehicles are designed to perform at higher rates of speed, which may lead to more severe damage to the vehicle in the event of a collision. Aluminium is very predictable in the way it reacts to collision forces. Vehicle designers can use this predictability for designing vehicles that absorb collision energy and transfer collision energy around and away from the vehicle occupants. Certain vehicle parts, such as front crush tubes or single-cell, extruded lower rails are designed to compress and absorb collision energy, while larger, multi-celled extruded inner rockers will transfer collision energy around the occupants.
