Modern high-strength steel
Since the turn of the new millennium, it has been getting even stronger. In the early 2000s, the tensile strength of the steel used in car production measured in at around 500 megapascals. Today, it’s closer to around 1,500 megapascals – the sort of strength that would allow you to hang four football team buses on an inch-wide strip without it breaking in two.
This new high-strength steel means the cars are lighter, for greater efficiency, and better able to control the transfer of energy in the event of a collision. Thanks to advances in steel production, it can disperse and redirect the force of an impact more effectively than ever.
At the front and rear of a vehicle, which have more volume with which to absorb the energy of a collision before it reaches the driver and passengers, manufacturers typically use steels that deform more easily and get stronger as they do. In a crash, these crumple until the shockwave reaches a firewall of high-strength steel that prevents further collapse and keeps the central structure around everybody inside intact.
Hyundai Motor: the only car manufacturer with its own integrated steel works
The only manufacturer with its own integrated steel works, Hyundai Motor has heavily invested to make it one of the most advanced steel production facilities in the world. The biggest benefit of this is the ability it has given the company to develop proprietary ultra-high strength steel that can give Hyundai vehicles a crucial advantage.
To guarantee quality, there is no differentiation in the standard. Hyundai uses the best steel, no matter what market the car is being sold in. To prove the point, Hyundai took two Sonatas, one built in Korea, and one in the USA and crashed them head on in a specially-built area and neither was more compromised in terms of basic safety structure.
The automotive industry has relied on steel since the early days of car manufacturing. An alloy of iron and carbon, steel is a fundamental material used in vehicle construction because of its excellent mechanical properties and relative cost-effectiveness. Its use ranges from the car's body structure to the intricate engine components.
This blog post provides a comprehensive insight into the role of steel in the automotive industry, from its historical significance to its impact on sustainability.