Steelers on Schmooze Tour for AV Concept
A consortium of automotive steel makers hope to display their vision of an autonomous Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) concept shuttle in a tour of US and European events.
The consortium, the World Steel Association formed from 18 global steel suppliers, has created its own automotive entity in the shape of WorldAutoSteel which has unveiled a driverless shuttle concept aimed at ride sharing and ride hailing using advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) products and technologies. The entity plans to make its Steel E-Motive portfolio of materials and methods freely available to automotive manufacturers around the world by 2030 to help them produce a new generation of efficient, economic and sustainable vehicles that claims to reduce in-use emissions by up to 86% when using renewably sourced electricity.
Its first concept is the Steel E-Motive four-passenger urban concept (SEM1). Virtual vehicle concepts have been developed by auto engineering company Ricardo and ARRK Engineering in Germany. Now a 3-D printed prototype of the SEM1 will be presented at four global events alongside an augmented or virtual reality presentation.
WorldAutoSteel claims that vehicles based on Steel E-Motive, offer the best possible crash protection and a comfortable, accessible cabin vital in persuading people to adopt autonomous ride sharing together and accelerate the journey to Net Zero.
Steel E-Motive will be presented at a number of high-profile industry events and exhibitions in the UK, Europe and USA, including:
- Zemo Partnership, 20th Anniversary Conference & Celebration, London (15 June)
- CAR MBS, Traverse City, Mi, USA (1-3 August)
- EuroCarBody, Bad Nauheim, Germany (17-19 October)
- CoMotion LA, Los Angeles (14-16 November).
A series of technical presentations will also take place in 2023, in countries including Japan, Korea and China. Cees ten Broek, director WorldAutoSteel, said: “We will be presenting a highly engineered vision of the future for Mobility as a Service. Our mission with Steel E-Motive is to provide a roadmap of innovations that will advance and enable the journey to zero emissions. Steel’s characteristics of strength, durability, and repairability align with the needs of these next generation ride sharing and ride hailing vehicles, while supporting optimal Total Cost of Ownership.”
— Paul Myles is a seasoned automotive journalist based in Europe. Follow him on Twitter @Paulmyles_
