According to a Ducker Worldwide study commissioned by the Aluminum Association, three out of four trucks will have aluminum bodies by 2025.
It all started with the all-new 2015 Ford F-150, which is expected to sell 650,000 units per year. GM and Chrysler have already shown their interest, as well.
“The truck business is competitive. They are lemmings, they follow each other,” said Richard Schultz, managing director of Ducker Worldwide.
Stricter fuel economy standards are forcing manufacturers to find ways to make their vehicles lighter, and naturally that includes using aluminum for body panels. The new F-150 is projected to be 10%-15% more fuel-efficient than the previous steel-bodied generation, with an estimated increased production cost of about $750 per truck.
The study also reveals that demand for aluminum sheets for light vehicle body parts will grow from less than 200 million pounds in 2012 to nearly 4 billion pounds by 2025. Companies like Alcoa and Novalis have recently announced plans to increase their production capacity.
Source: Automotive News
It all started with the all-new 2015 Ford F-150, which is expected to sell 650,000 units per year. GM and Chrysler have already shown their interest, as well.
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| 2015 Ford F-150 (Photo: Ford) |
Stricter fuel economy standards are forcing manufacturers to find ways to make their vehicles lighter, and naturally that includes using aluminum for body panels. The new F-150 is projected to be 10%-15% more fuel-efficient than the previous steel-bodied generation, with an estimated increased production cost of about $750 per truck.
The study also reveals that demand for aluminum sheets for light vehicle body parts will grow from less than 200 million pounds in 2012 to nearly 4 billion pounds by 2025. Companies like Alcoa and Novalis have recently announced plans to increase their production capacity.
Source: Automotive News