Kobe Steel to Expand High Tensile Auto Steel Sales

Kobe Steel accelerates marketing for automotive high tensile steel sheet by improving the components and workability. The firm tries to expand the sales by appealing the high performance both for crash safety and light weight when Japanese automakers accelerate the actions for the lighter weight. Kobe Steel focuses on high tensile steel with more than 590 mega pascal of strength and the firm got order of the steel with 980 MPa for materials of 2 parts of new Lexus model, which Toyota Motor will launch in autumn. With the effort, Kobe Steel tries to increase the high tensile steel to around 40% of total sales for automobile in fiscal 2008 ending March 2009 from current just less than 30%. Automakers required sheet steel with better performance to improve fuel consumption and crash safety and not to increase cost. However, they increase the sensitivity both for lither weight and crash safety under tighter targets for side crash and carbon dioxide release. They also require cost competitiveness with substitute materials and components. Kobe Steel is one of the leading steel makers for high tensile steel with the technology for metallurgy and processing. The firm produces super high tensile steels 980 MPa and 1,270 MPa of strength after the firm commercialized cold rolled steel with 980 MPa for automobile pillar for the first time in the world though automakers still use high tensile steel mainly with 440 MPa. Kobe Steel tries to improve the workability of high tensile steel, which is weak point despite of the thinner gauge, harder and stronger performance. Kobe Steel developed processing technology package for automakers and auto parts makers to support the users’ new applications.