It is still a long way to go for the localization of automotive steel

The automotive industry is one of the largest users of the steel industry. Due to the insufficient production capacity of steel for high value-added steel used in China's iron and steel enterprises, the cold rolled sheet for automotive use, which has the largest amount of usage, has long been dependent on imports.

Baoshan Iron and Steel Company had previously announced that 56 domestic automobile manufacturers currently use Baosteel's automotive panels, breaking the long-term monopoly of the domestic automotive market. However, authoritative sources believe that more than 60% of the high-end cold-rolled sheet products currently in short supply are still imported.

Among the raw materials used in automobile manufacturing, steel accounts for 60% to 70% of the total consumption of various materials. Automobile steel mainly includes automobile girders, automotive linings, automobile panels, and gear steels for transmission parts.

According to industry experts, the domestic demand for steel for automobiles in 2006 has the same trend as that of industrial steels in general, namely, the unit consumption continues to decline, the total demand continues to increase, and the variety and performance requirements continue to increase. The contradiction between supply and demand for some special steel products is still relatively large.

In the 1990s, after Baosteel first developed the 05 steel plate for vehicles, domestic steel companies began to make efforts in the field of automotive steel. Steel companies such as Shougang and Wuhan Iron and Steel have all come up with their own products. In the past, many steel products imported from vehicles were imported. Realized localization. In order to meet the needs of domestic auto companies, Baosteel and Anshan Iron and Steel have successively formed strategic partnerships with FAW, and Dongfeng Motor Company has also formally established a strategic partnership with Panzhihua Iron & Steel.

Since 1994, research and development of high-grade automotive plates have been carried out in Baosteel. After more than ten years of hard work, the production level of automotive plates has been ranked first in the international automotive plate manufacturing industry. High-strength double-sided galvanized steel products produced by Baosteel Boards and other products have been provided to luxury cars such as Audi and Buick.

According to industry insiders, some high-strength, high-value-added automotive steel products are currently in the development stage. Although some trial productions have been successful, due to limited demand and high production costs, it is still not possible to mass produce. For example, ultra-low-carbon, ultra-deep IF cold steel plates, galvanized plates, bake hardened (BH) high-strength plates, and phosphorus-containing high-strength plates for passenger car cold rolled steel plates are in trial production and trial phase. The specifications of car plates are generally 0.5~3.0mm thick and 600~2000mm wide. At present, some domestic specifications are difficult to produce.

For the high value-added galvanized sheet required by the automotive industry, it cannot be produced due to lack of production methods and insufficient supply of raw materials. Zinc-nickel alloy electroplated zinc plates, as well as thick-plated, single-sided thick-plated electro-galvanized plates cannot be produced. It is still a long way to go for the localization of automotive steel products.