It’s Aluminium v Steel for electric vehicles

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London, March 27: When electric carmaker Tesla launched its first mass market model last summer, it sent a shockwave through the aluminum industry by largely shifting to steel and away from the lighter weight metal it had used in its first two luxury models.

The switch by Elon Musk’s Tesla to the heavierbut- cheaper metal highlights how steel is fighting back against aluminum, which had widely been expected to be the bigger beneficiary of the electric vehicle revolution.

Aluminum had been seen as the key to offsetting the weight of batteries in order to extend the range of electric vehicles, crucial to increased acceptance.

But as makers of batterypowered cars look to tap into bigger markets with cheaper vehicles — and embrace technological developments in batteries and components — many are increasingly looking to steel to cut costs. The price of Tesla’s mass- market orientated Model 3 is around half of the £ 70,000 luxury Model S.

“Before the aim was ‘ Let’s get the [ electric vehicles] developed’, now it’s ‘ Let’s get them developed at the right price point,’” says Mauro Erriquez, a partner at McKinsey & Company in Germany who specializes in the auto sector. consumer

It is the latest tussle in a decades- long battle between steel and aluminum for market share among automakers, seeking to cut the weight of vehicles to help slash emissions and meet tough government pollution standards.

Steel is also winning back some market share among gasoline vehicles, such as the Audi A8. The latest model abandoned its heavy use of aluminum and shifted to a mix of steel, aluminum, magnesium and carbon fiber.

The competition between the metals has intensified amid rapidly growing demand for battery- powered cars. Sales of electric and hybrid vehicles are due to surge to 30 per cent of the global auto market by 2030, according to metal consultants CRU, up from 4 per cent of the 86 million vehicles sold last year.

In China, sales of new energy vehicles are due to grow by 40 per cent this year to top 1 million vehicles, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Tesla declined to comment, but in a filing with the US SEC last month it said it designed the Model 3 “with a mix of materials to be lightweight and safe while also increasing costeffectiveness for this massmarket vehicle”.

Other makers of mass market electric vehicles that have also chosen steel over aluminum include Nissan Motor’s Leaf, the world’s best- selling allelectric vehicle, and Volkswagen’s e- Golf.

Aluminum is still expected to benefit greatly from the electric vehicle revolution, however, especially from hybrids because they have two engines.

Both the combustion engine block and transmission are typically made of aluminum while the metal is also often used for housing the battery and motor in electric vehicles, according to auto metals specialist AluMag in Germany.