Mr. Swamy Kotagiri reports

MAGNA INNOVATIONS HELP MAKE CADILLAC A LIGHTWEIGHT LEADER

Part innovations from Magna International have enabled Cadillac to design and build lighter vehicles that enhance performance and improve fuel economy with lower emissions and cost of ownership.

"We're optimizing components and systems to make them smarter, cleaner, safer and lighter," said Swamy Kotagiri, Magna's chief technical officer. "Our customers like Cadillac can be assured that Magna will continue to develop and deliver innovative and affordable solutions across the full range of our product portfolio."

Multiple Magna product innovations have either debuted or are coming soon in Cadillac vehicles, including:

• Carbon fibre hoods: Magna manufactures the auto industry's first volume production of carbon fibre hoods. The carbon fibre hoods appear in the new 2016 ATS-V and CTS-V high performance models. The hoods are more than 27 per cent lighter than aluminum hoods and 72 per cent lighter than steel hoods. This product is the culmination of years of development at Magna, which has seen the company at the forefront of research and development efforts to enable CF manufacturing at the required volumes.
• Aluminum oil pans: Jointly developed with General Motors, transmission oil pans in the all-new Cadillac CT6 sedan are made from aluminum, resulting in a part that is 2.5 pounds to three pounds lighter than its steel counterpart, a weight savings of approximately 60 per cent. The key is being able to stamp the required shape within the packaging space allowed, which was solved by working closely together with Cadillac to refine the design for optimum formability and manufacturability.
• High-pressure aluminum die-cast components: Magna also manufactures 13 high-pressure aluminum die-cast components for the body and chassis of the Cadillac CT6, which has one of the auto industry's most advanced body structures. One of the 13 components, a front-body hinge pillar, provides the functionality of 35 parts and reduces the number of components by 20 per cent.

These weight-saving components contribute to the overall mass reduction of the CT6, enabling it to be more agile, efficient and lighter than competitive offerings. CT6 begins production at the end of the year.

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