Novelis’ strategic partnership with NIO boosts aluminum supply to automotive market

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Aluminum major Novelis has announced strategic partnership with Munich-based electric car maker NIO. The agreement signed between the two companies is expected to boost Novelis’ supply of aluminum to automotive industry. This is the company’s first major supply agreement deal in the premium electric vehicle industry.

As per the deal, Novelis will supply Advanz aluminum alloys to NIO, which will be used to create a wide range of structural components for NIO’s electric SUV models scheduled to be launched over the next five years. The Novelis’ Changzhou plant in China will supply automotive sheets for the carmaker. The facility, located in the Changzhou National Hi-Tech Distric, is China’s first plant dedicated to the production of advanced heat-treated aluminum automotive sheet.

Pierre Labat, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Global Automotive, Novelis noted that the partnership underscores the company’s commitment to work closely with design teams to maximize the unique attributes of aluminum in vehicle manufacturing. The relationship with NIO will help to enhance the performance and design of premium electric cars segment. Meantime, William Li, NIO Founder and Chairman stated that the partnership will benefit both the companies. The initiative will increasingly focus on application of lightweight materials in production of next-generation electric vehicles.

The association with NIO is another step forward in Novelis’ association with bringing innovations into automotive market. Recently, the company’s closed loop programme, REALCAR (Recycled ALuminium CAR), launched in 2008, in partnership with automotive major Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) had won the award under automotive and transportation category at the 2016 aluminium trade fair at Düsseldorf in Germany. The company had developed Novelis AdvanzTM s5754 RC aluminium alloy containing up to 75% recycled content. The new alloy, which was first introduced in the Jaguar XE series, is now featured in all new and legacy Jaguar Land Rover models.

About Novelis

Novelis Inc. is the global leader in aluminum rolled products and the world's largest recycler of aluminum. The company operates in 10 countries, has approximately 12,000 employees and reported $10 billion in revenue for its 2016 fiscal year. Novelis supplies premium aluminum sheet and foil products to transportation, packaging, construction, industrial and consumer electronics markets throughout North America, Europe, Asia and South America. Novelis is a subsidiary of Hindalco Industries Limited, part of the Aditya Birla Group, a multinational conglomerate based in Mumbai, India.

About NIO

NIO is a global start-up, designing and developing smart, high-performance, premium electric vehicles. NIO has recruited thousands of world-class R&D and design experts from around the world with significant technology and management background from leading automobile and high tech companies. It has more than 2,000 employees in San Jose, Shanghai, Munich, London and eight other locations. The company aims to introduce autonomous electric vehicles in the US market by 2020.