Renault Samsung Motors, Korea, announces that its engineers have succeeded in developing magnesium-base sheet metal for vehicles together with POSCO, and will be the first car company in the world to use it in mass-produced automobiles. The two companies invested $1.9 million over two years to develop magnesium sheet suitable for a car body.
Renault Samsung plans to use magnesium sheet for the first time for the walls of VIP back seats and the trunks of an upgraded SM7 to be introduced this month. This proof of the applicability of magnesium sheet metal will help expand its applications throughout the automobile component market.
The weight of the magnesium sheet metal component is only 1.4 kg, 2.2 kg lighter than an equivalent steel component, a 61% decrease in weight. Although magnesium sheet metal is relatively expensive, POSCO has developed new capabilities to make the process cheaper. Integrated with the component design and processing technologies of Renault Samsung Motors, magnesium sheet metal now has the appropriate qualities and standards to be automobile component. Magnesium is the only usable natural resource with large reserves in Korea.
