During the past decade, the average amount of aluminum in passenger cars has doubled. Based on the latest designs, this trend will continue in the coming years.
However, switching from steel to aluminum is not straightforward. For example, aluminum is 50 percent lighter than steel, but it has an average elastic modulus of 70 gigapascals, while that for steel is 207 gigapascals. As a result, aluminum parts are typically 40 percent thicker than their steel counterparts.