抄録
At this time, the Japanese automotive industry is faced with a situation with which it has no experience. The profits of every company are going down rapidly, and we must also answer to social requests which are getting more severe. These requests include world-wide environmental concerns and traffic safety, as well as customer's individual requirements.
Under these circumstances, steel which has been used in automotive parts in large quantities will be expected to make numerous new contributions.
In the future it will be quite necessary that car makers and steel makers cooperate with each other more closely. This cooperation will be required not only for further performance improvements and cost reductions, but also for development of new steel products and processes.
This paper reports the recent trend of materials and the changes in their processes, and the future of steel in new automobile parts.
