Novelis has announced it is supplying high-strength, military-grade, aluminium for the upcoming Ford F-Series Super Duty lineup of trucks, the toughest, smartest, most capable Super Duty ever.
Following the launch of the 2015 Ford F-150, the aluminium-intensive F-Series Super Duty trucks also feature high-strength, military-grade, Novelis aluminium alloys in the body and bed, reducing overall vehicle weight by up to 350 pounds. This weight reduction enables the use of tougher underbody components such as an all-new, fully boxed high-strength frame, stronger axles and springs, larger brakes and driveline parts for superior performance. The truck series will represent the second-highest volume aluminium application in automotive to date, surpassed only by the F-150, which saved up to 700 pounds of weight for increased capability, performance and efficiency.
"Novelis is proud to be a supplier of aluminium sheet for the Super Duty, helping Ford remove weight, improve towing and add payload capability to its best-selling work truck,” said Marco Palmieri, Senior Vice President, and President for Novelis North America. “Using what we learned from the massive success of the game-changing 2015 Ford F-150, we are excited to partner with Ford as they produce the next generation of lightweight trucks.”
Novelis will produce the aluminium sheet for the F-Series Super Duty trucks at its plant in Oswego, N.Y. The plant is in the process of commissioning its third automotive sheet finishing line, which has been fully contracted to support production of the Super Duty and will begin shipping product in spring 2016.
Novelis forecasts the global demand for aluminium automotive sheet will continue to grow and that automotive aluminium will represent approximately 25 percent of Novelis’ total shipments when all five of its new global automotive lines are fully utilised. Since 2011, Novelis has invested more than $550 million globally to triple its automotive sheet capacity. Demand for aluminium is rapidly increasing as automakers strive to design a new generation of lighter, higher-performing vehicles with improved fuel economy and reduced life-cycle emissions.