Made in India cars are now stronger, lighter and safer

Ahost of new technology applications like hotstamping of sheet metal components can help carmakers achieve much better safety performance,

- Chandan B Mallik and Manobhava Baruah.

Modern cars can be described as technology on wheels when it comes to performance, efficiency and connected features. But making them as per prescribed norms by regulators and safety bodies means that there are times when the process has to factor in conflicting objectives. For instance, regulators want cleaner cars and high levels of active and passive safety features while users want all those and more with better miles per gallon and efficiency.

This is where structural engineers and various safety and production technologies come into play. Cars made in India are becoming safer and are now able to meet benchmark global safety standards thanks to the availability of state-of-the-art technologies like hot stamping.

Most sheet metal parts that go into making the body-in-white (BIW) are usually made using cold stamping of various grades of sheet metal. The BIW is created by welding together all of the vehicle’s structural components, minus moving parts, to make a unit construction.

“Of all the elements of safety of the car, the most important is the car body structure, due to the protection that it provides to passengers when a collision takes place,” says Glyn Jones, Country Manager and President, Gestamp India, a Tier I supplier to several OEMs in the country. The company operates three plants in the country and an R&D centre in Pune. It claims that it has helped increase awareness for safety standards that match those of the Global NCAP.

Gestamp India has introduced hot stamping facilities for OEM clients in India and several brands have engaged its services for various products like A-, B- pillars and various other structural components.