安賽樂米塔爾將發佈新型高強度汽車用鋼
ArcelorMittal will launch a new high-strength automotive steel later this year, throwing down the gauntlet to its rivals in the race to make cars lighter.
安賽樂米塔爾(ArcelorMittal)將於今年晚些時候發佈一款新型高強度汽車用鋼，此舉將在降低汽車重量的競爭中向對手發起挑戰。
The world’s biggest steel producer by tonnage said that its new grade, called Usibor 2000, would be about one-third stronger than those currently available for carmaking.
這家全球產量最高的鋼鐵製造商表示，這款新型用鋼被稱爲Usibor 2000，其強度將比現有的汽車用鋼高出三分之一左右。
“It’s lightweight because the material is so strong that you need a lot less of it to achieve the same functionality,” said Greg Ludkovsky, head of research and development at ArcelorMittal.
安賽樂米塔爾研發部門總監格雷格•路德科夫斯基(Greg Ludkovsky)表示：“它有助於減重，因爲這種材料強度非常高，要實現同樣的功能需要更少的用鋼。”
Tightening regulations on exhaust emissions in the fight against climate change are forcing automakers to improve their fleets’ average fuel efficiency. Alongside improvements in internal combustion engine technology and developments in electric vehicles, one of the main ways is by reducing mass.
在應對氣候變化的努力中，針對尾氣排放的監管力度加大，這正迫使汽車製造商提高汽車的平均燃油效率。除了內燃機技術的改進和電動汽車的發展，主要的方法之一是降低汽車重量。
While steel remains the material of choice in automotive, there is increasing competition from other substrates, such as aluminium and plastic composites, which can offer weight advantages.
儘管鋼材仍是汽車的首選材料，但它正面臨其他板材日益激烈的競爭，例如具備重量優勢的鋁塑複合板。
This was illustrated when Ford switched to aluminium for the body of its 2015 F-150 pickup truck, the best-selling vehicle in the US for more than three decades.
福特(Ford) 2015款F-150皮卡改用全鋁車身就表明了這點，這款車型是30多年來美國最暢銷的。
ArcelorMittal said that for applications requiring complex shapes, its Usibor 2000 product would bring potential weight saving of up 10 per cent on the previous best steel grade. It is more than three times stronger than leading automotive aluminium alloys, according to the company. Launch is expected by the end of this year in Europe and mid-2017 in the US.
安賽樂米塔爾表示，對於構造複雜的形狀，其Usibor 2000產品將令部件重量潛在比以前最好的鋼材品級減少10%。據該公司稱，這種品級用鋼的強度是領先汽車用鋁合金的3倍多。預計這款產品將於今年底在歐洲發佈，2017年年中在美國發布。
