Mahindra,Maruti India eye developing light weight cars to enhance frugality

To boost the fuel efficiency and lower the emission standards of the cars, two of the leading car manufacturers in the country are taking up a most difficult challenge of reducing the car's overall weight. Mahindra and Mahindra engineers are working day in and day out to produce a new SUV weighing under 1 tonne, which is literally cutting down the weight of the SUV by half. Under normal conditions an M&M SUV weighs around 1.6 – 2 tonnes. On the other hand Maruti India strategizes the weight reduction in its car models by reducing each of its components weight by 1 gm.

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Over the period of thirty years, since 1970’s the cars have undergone a major transition. While catching up with the trend, the cars have become stronger and safer incorporating the latest technology, nevertheless became heavier with every advancement made in the field. With larger capacity engines and stronger materials used to ensure safety, the overall weight of the car had increased by 20% till 2008. However, the car makers are now targeting relatively low weight vehicles to induce better fuel efficiency and performance attributed by the lighter vehicles. The car manufacturers have taken up the challenge to cut down the unnecessary weight to deliver more power.

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Apparently, the car weights have almost doubled from seventies, which used to weigh just 750 kg as compared to 1,500 kg models today. The heavier cars consume more fuel as they need more power to drive them, resulting in increased emissions. This is not only affecting the consumers due to the increasing fuel prices, but also the car manufacturers with the increasing material costs that goes into car manufacturing. The lightweight, but stronger and more reliable materials like carbon-fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) are being used by the car manufacturers instead of steel accounting for 50% material weight reduction. As no good thing comes cheaper, the lighter material is costlier than the steel, which takes up the vehicles costs higher. Maruti Suzuki India has offered cash incentives to get its technicians work towards lowering its components weight by 1g. In the process, the company is said to save around Rs 147 crores.