Innovations at the 63rd exhibition include world premieres from Audi, BMW, Opel, Peugeot and Renault. Ten of the models from these manufacturers alone contain parts and systems made of aluminum from Hydro.

"It is good to see the development of the new models and the increasing proportion of lightweight aluminum components and systems," explains Salvador Biosca, head of Hydro's automotive business based on extruded aluminum profiles.

"We rely on our customers in the automotive industry and are already working on projects on the next round."

Leading & nbsp; for lightweight construction

Hydro is the leading provider of aluminum applications for automobile manufacturers and a technological leader in several areas, including crash management systems, heat exchangers, gearboxes and wheel suspensions.

The company supplies both OEM customers and suppliers for the automotive industry. Depending on the application, the product range includes rolled products - strips and sheets - or aluminum profiles.

The models that will be presented for the first time at the IAA use Hydro's front and rear bumper systems, monobeam solutions, subframes and rollover protection systems. These are the following models:

• Opel Astra, front and rear bumper
• Rolls-Royce Ghost, front
• Audi R8 Spyder, rollover protection
• Peugeot 5008 MPV, rear bumper

More rolled strip for body panels

Hydro also supplies flat-rolled aluminum strips for body parts for the new BMW 5 Series, for the Mercedes-Benz E station wagon and for all versions of the improved C-Class as well as for the current Porsche Panamera.

"Thanks to our new production center and continuous annealing line in Germany, we can supply aluminum strips for all types of body parts," reports Pascal Wagner, who is responsible for Hydro's automotive business in the area of rolled products.

Hydro generally does not supply rolled and pressed pipe parts directly to automobile manufacturers, but to other suppliers. Although this makes it difficult to make a precise statement regarding the new models, Biosca believes that most of the products that will be presented at the IAA in Frankfurt contain Hydro aluminum in the heat exchanger systems.

Sustainable mobility

The Association of the German Automobile Industry (VDA) is the organizer of the IAA 2009, at which specialist events for the industry and the press take place for two days before the IAA opens its doors to visitors on September 19. Around 700 exhibitors, including more than 60 car manufacturers, will be on site by September 27.

The motto of the IAA 2009 - “Experience what moves” - takes up the guiding principle of sustainable mobility, with the focus on further reducing fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.

“We have consistently implemented this strategy in the past two years and significantly reduced the CO2 emissions of our new vehicles. In 2007, CO2 emissions decreased by a total of 2 percent, in 2008 by 3 percent, ”said Matthias Wissmann, President of the VDA.