Japanese automakers Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co have joined with Toray Industries Inc. to develop a new carbon-fiber material for use in auto bodies and hope to mass produce cars that are as much as 40 percent lighter than vehicles built with steel.The group aims to establish mass production technology for the new material by the middle of the next decade, a Japanese business newspaper reported.
Textile firms Mitsubishi Rayon Co. and Toyoba Co., plastic parts maker Takagi Seiko Corp. and researchers from the University of Tokyo will also assist in the project, which comes during recent steep increases in iron ore prices that have inflated steel prices and raw material costs for automakers worldwide. Though carbon fiber now is several times more expensive than steel or aluminum, the price is expected to go down because there is significant room to expand production of the new material.
The efforts could also help produce lighter vehicles that can also improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions. Mass production of vehicles using carbon fiber would also be a big step forward in the auto industry, since carbon fiber’s high cost currently limits its use to concept cars and a few high-end sports vehicles, the reported stated.