An assessment of using Aluminum and Magnesium on CO2 emission in European passenger cars

Abstract

The European Union (EU) parliament limited the exhaust gas carbon dioxide (CO2) emission target in the driving cycle of passenger cars produced in the member countries to 95 g/km by 2020/2021. Weight is one of the important parameters affecting fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in vehicles. With the regulation, automobile manufacturers have started to search for new technologies, especially weight reduction. Therefore, the usage rate of light metals such as Aluminum (Al) and Magnesium (Mg) in passenger cars increases in parallel with technological developments. In this study, we aimed to calculate and discuss the effect of weight reduction effect on driving cycle exhaust CO2 emissions from the substitution of steel with Al and Mg using mathematical modeling. As a result, changes in material selection in the automotive industry have contributed to a certain extent to the achievement of the EU-specific CO2 emission target. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.