Novelis selected as leading supplier of sheet for new Audi A8

Novelis has announced that it has been selected as the main supplier of aluminium sheet for the redesigned Audi A8 luxury saloon. Audi has long beeen a pioneer in incorporating lightweight design into its vehicles and is taking this to a new level with the aluminium intensive A8. The latest model, which was recently unveiled, will use Novelis Fusion TM technology to achieve weight savings not previously possible in automotive structural components. Novelis has entered into an agreement with Audi for the supply of the aluminium sheet that will be used for a number of outer panels and design-critical structural components. The outer panels are the bonnet, boot,doors and the roof. The structural components include the complete floor tunnel and various reinforcements. The agreement extends the long-running relationship between the car manufacturer and Novelis, which is widely-recognize as a global leader in the production of aluminium sheet for the automotive sector. Novelis will supply specially-treated 6000-series automotive sheet as weel as its Novelis Fusion TM AS250 sheet. Novelis Fusion TM is an innovative, patented, multi-layer aluminium technology that Novelis has dubbed"The new aluminium TM" because it offers performance benefits that are not achievable with conventional aluminium. Audi says that one of its most enduring aims is to reverse the"weight spiral"---The trend toward increasing vehicle weight with successive models. Lightweight design is the foundation of the company's entire approaching improving efficiency. To help fulfil this ambition for the next generation of the A8, Audi set itself the target of increasing the strength of the load-bearing components in the car by 25%. The use of Novelis fusion TM has enabled Audi to meet this goal for the floor tunnel, thus reducing overall vehicle weight and meating the latest global crash requirements. It is the unique combination of core propered by the multi-alloy composition of Novelis Fusion TM that makes this possible. In this instance, Novelis Fusion TM was chosen instead of a dual-phase steel solution, which would not have achieved the weight reduction required by Audi.

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