Proper selection of materials used in the automobile industry can cut a vehicle's overall weight and consequently increase fuel efficiency, the Confederation of Indian Industry's Corrosion Management Committee (CII-CMC) has said.

“Material selection is crucial in many ways. With every 10 per cent cut in a vehicle's gross weight, fuel economy improves by seven per cent. Lightweight materials offer great potential for increasing vehicle efficiency,” V.R. Krishnan of CII-CMC said in a statement here. “Corrosion is widely recognised as one of the biggest challenges faced by automotive industry, and is probably one of the single largest factor causing exterior degradation of automotive surfaces, resulting in huge warranty claims that the automobile manufacturers have to face,” the release said.

Corrosion in automobiles leads to loss of material, leading to failure and breakdowns, dimensional inaccuracy, degradation of aesthetics, deterioration of mechanical properties and increase in maintenance costs, he added. While corrosion causes losses of around Rs 80,000 crore every year in India, of which the automotive industry accounts for Rs 4,000 crore, it is estimated that 25-40 per cent of costs could be saved by implementing proper corrosion management practices, the release said. “Investment in preventive methods is more cost-effective than spending on repairs and maintenance later, which account for $2.5 billion and $6.5 billion respectively,” said Kamachi Mudali, CII-Faraday Council of Corrosion chairman and associate director of corrosion (Science and Technology Group), Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu. The CII study estimated that direct costs of corrosion across the world exceeds $2.2 trillion, “which is about 3-4 per cent of the gross domestic product of industrialised countries”.