Safety Facts

Superior crash absorption properties of high-strength automotive aluminum, matched with intelligent vehicle design, improve the safety of today’s vehicles. Please read the executive summary for more details on the crash safety study.

• Injuries in crashes involving SUVs and smaller vehicles can be reduced up to 42 percent by using automotive aluminum to extend the SUVs front/rear crush zone while reducing overall weight.

• Pound for pound, automotive aluminum absorbs two times the energy in a crash compared to steel.

• Auto aluminum can be designed to fold predictably during a crash, allowing the vehicle – not its passengers – to absorb its maximum energy to protect passengers from destructive crash forces.

• The high strength-to-weight ratio of aluminum allows a vehicle to maintain, or even increase, the size and strength of its critical front- and back-end crumple zones without increasing overall weight or sacrificing occupant safety.

• Aluminum can replace iron and steel components in motor vehicles for a weight savings of 45 to 50 percent while increasing performance and fuel efficiency without compromising safety.

• It is estimated that in two vehicles of equal weight – one aluminum and one steel – the aluminum vehicle can be built up to 20 percent larger. This allows designers to maximize overall vehicle size – and therefore safety – without weight penalties.

• Auto aluminum improves vehicle performance creating lighter vehicles with higher structural stiffness that accelerate more quickly, provide better stability and response, and require shorter stopping distances than heavier vehicles.