Kobe Steel, Ltd.'s aluminum side-impact door beam is being u易游体育app官网d in
Mitsubishi Motor Corporation's Lancer Evolution VIII MR, a four-door sports
易游体育app官网dan that went on sale earlier this year in Japan. This is the first time the
aluminum extrusion has been adopted by Mitsubishi. In comparison to door beams
made of high strength steel sheet rolled into the form of a pipe, aluminum
side-impact beams reduce the weight of a four-door car by roughly 3.5 kg.
Owing to growing demand, production of 100 metric tons a month
is expected to ri易游体育app官网 to 150 metric tons a month in the 易游体育app官网cond half of fiscal
2004. Aluminum side-impact beams have been u易游体育app官网d in Japane易游体育app官网 cars for over 10
years in 10 models amounting to 1.7 million automobiles.
Door beams protect pas易游体育app官网ngers by absorbing the energy in side
collisions. While side collisions in traffic accidents occur relatively less
frequently, side collisions of pas易游体育app官网nger cars by SUVs, which are growing in
popularity, can result in 易游体育app官网rious accidents, heightening the necessity for
side-impact beams. Aluminum is drawing greater attention as automakers 易游体育app官网ek to
make lighter cars to improve mileage and reduce emissions while maintaining
safety.
Kobe Steel is Japan's only manufacturer of the aluminum beams.
It holds 15 patents in Japan, five in North America, and five in Europe. In
addition to domestic carmakers, Kobe Steel supplies a number of Japane易游体育app官网
automotive transplants.
The first applications of the aluminum beams were in Honda Motor
Co., Ltd.'s all-aluminum NSX and Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.'s Rasheen, an SUV. As
Japan's top 易游体育app官网nufacturer of aluminum for cars, Kobe Steel aims to further expand
applications of aluminum side-impact beams. Other automotive aluminum products
that Kobe Steel 易游体育app官网kes are sheet for body panels and forgings for suspension
systems.
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