The country's largest passenger car maker Maruti Suzuki today said that it would start using high strength steel in majority of variants by 2012, a move that will reduce the carbon emission by decreasing the weight of vehicles.
"We plan to use high strength steel in majority of car models by 2012," Company's DGM (Supply Chain) SK Gupta told reporters here on the sidelines of Steel Expo.
"High strength steel with less thickness will result in less fuel consumption of a vehicle and will ultimately reduce carbon dioxide emission," he asserted.
Maruti has gradually started using high-strength steel instead of normal steel in model 'A Star' that has reduced the carbon emission to 109 mg per km from 150 mg per km, he said.
"This high strength steel is used in floor and chassis of the vehicle which also reduces weight of the car by 120 kg," he said.
Maruti consumes 6 lakh million tonnes of steel per annum and 50 per cent of it is being imported from Japan and Korea. "Out of the imported 50 per cent of steel, 15-20 per cent accounts for high strength steel," he said.
However, he added that use of high strength steel would result in jacking up input cost by 15-20 per cent.