S-in motion^® for commercial trucks

Our experience as the leading steel supplier to the global car industry means ArcelorMittal is uniquely positioned to offer truck makers a range of steel solutions. Our advanced automotive steels help OEMs:

• Lighten both truck and trailer
• Increase safety and driver comfort
• Reduce the total cost of ownership

By involving our engineers in the design of new trucks at a very early stage, OEMs can benefit from our expertise.

To ensure maximum cost effectiveness during their 15 to 20 year lifetime, trucks must be reliable partners for drivers and owners. Any repair or maintenance means lost productivity and should be minimised.

Structural designs for truck cabs typically evolve more slowly than those for cars. However, almost all innovations in the automotive sector are making their way into truck cab design. This includes technologies such as laser welded blanks and hot stamping which are now appearing in state-of-the-art trucks.

Trucks also drive the same roads as cars. This obvious observation means that truck manufacturers share many of the challenges that carmakers are facing nowadays, such as how to save weight in order to lower fuel consumption and therefore reduce CO₂emissions. Besides, the European regulations are evolving, offering the possibility to increase the length of the cab for aerodynamic and safety purposes. This encourages the truck makers to design new cabs and therefore start using High strength steels (HSS) and Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS). These 2 types of steel – HSS and AHSS, including dual phase and boron steels – are already delivering on their promise to reduce truck weight significantly. The advantages of these steels have already been demonstrated through ArcelorMittal’s S-in motion^® study. The high strength of our HSS and AHSS products means that less steel is required, reducing overall weight without compromising performance, safety or cost.

New coatings such as ArcelorMittal’s Zagnelis^® are also helping to extend the life of trucks. Containing 3% magnesium and 3% aluminium, Zagnelis^® ensures that vulnerable parts will resist corrosion significantly longer than hot dip galvanisation.

Our specialised truck customer team is supported by researchers from Global R&D Automotive. They can advise which steels and process improvements will achieve the biggest weight savings without compromising reliability, safety, comfort or affordability.