Nissan today announced its plan to expand the use of Advanced High Tensile Strength Steel (AHSS) in to up to 25 percent of the vehicle parts (measured by weight) installed in its new production models. Nissan will make use of advanced high tensile strength steel starting in 2017 as one of its initiatives to help reduce vehicle weight. Through an optimal combination of materials, the jointly-developed 2 1.2 GPa Ultra High Tensile Strength Steel with High Formability provides greater elongation, and offers strength and high formability, to make lighter-weight steel sheets.
With the active adoption of 1.2 GPa ultra-high strength steel, which is one grade among several types of advanced high tensile strength steels, Nissan will increase the adoption rate of AHSS as far as 25 percent of the gross weight of the parts installed per vehicle. This effort will begin in 2017 and aims to reduce the weight of Nissan’s vehicles by 15 percent with corresponding body structure rationalization. In addition, employing 1.2 GPa high tensile strength steel leads to fewer materials used per vehicle produced, and existing production lines can be used without a big modification. This results in a reduction in total cost per unit.
