Only the name remains – Ford on advances in auto grade metals

Broadly speaking, the automotive industry has favoured the same basic materials to manufacture vehicles for more than a century. Over this time, new cars have changed drastically in virtually every sense, but at first glance, the same cannot be said for the materials selected.

In 1915, the Ford Model T sedan – generally considered to be the first affordable mass-produced passenger car – consisted of 77% iron-based metals (63% steel and 14% cast iron), 19% wood, and 4% of other materials including aluminium. Fast-forward to the current 2017 Fiesta, and there remains a high concentration of iron-based materials (62%), a mere 15% decline since 1915.

“This does not really look like much of a change,” observes Jürgen Wesemann, Manager, Vehicle Technologies and Materials at Ford’s European Research and Advanced Engineering unit. “However, if you look to the mix of material classes, there is a significant