As automakers continue to lightweight with aluminum, they also turn to advanced joining techniques like laser welding. “While Ford was the first to convert a high-volume vehicle to aluminum in North America [with the F-150], Audi and Jaguar Land Rover expanded modern use of aluminum to decrease vehicle weight, improve fuel economy and improve performance more than 20 years ago,” said Doug Richman, technical committee chairman of the Aluminum Transportation Group and vice president of engineering at Kaiser Aluminum.
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