The idea is yet to be made mandatory but will give a huge boost to the quality of the car-shells.
India is moving towards making the environment less polluted with its BS6 emission norms that will come into effect from 1st April 2020 and also make the passengers safer by making equipment like ABS and airbags mandatory. But, the first point of contact when a car meets with an accident is its body. While premium carmakers really work on making the body shell strong and lasting, that’s not the case with the more affordable cars whose metal starts rusting after some years of use. But if reports are to be believed, this will change.
A survey conducted by IIT-Mumbai in 2015 had stated that the Indian manufacturer’s use 30 percent galvanised steel in their cars sold in India. This leads to faster rusting of the car bodies which in turn reduces its structural stability and strength. What’s sad is the fact that the same manufacturers increase the galvanisation percentage to 70 percent for the same models when they are exported out of India. This is done because the quality control in foreign countries is much stricter. Also, the global average of galvanisation usage in car steel is 50 percent.
But in a positive move, the Road Transport and Highways Ministry too might make it mandatory to use 70 percent galvanised steel in car bodies that cost under Rs. 10 lakhs. So what is galvanisation? It is the process of applying a protective zinc coating to iron or steel to prevent rusting. It might increase the cost of the vehicles by some amount but then you’ll also get a better quality and a long lasting product.
The decision can be easily implemented as manufacturers already use 70 percent galvanised steel for their export quality vehicles. It is good to see amongst the most premier institutes in India leading such a survey that will go a long way in increasing the quality of the products that we buy and more importantly, road safety, which is a major cause of deaths in India.
Galvanised Steel For Car
– The Indian Government might make it mandatory to use this in cars costing under Rs. 10 lakhs
– Currently, the manufacturers use 30 percent galvanised steel
– The decision comes based on an IIT-Mumbai study which says the current steel reduces structural stability
Source – ETAuto.com
