Galvanized steel primarily has two distinct benefits—first, it protects the steel from corrosive attack acting as a continuous and lasting shield between steel and the atmosphere. Secondly, it acts as a galvanic protector, sacrificing itself slowly in the presence of corrosive agents.
“Zinc is an amazing corrosion protector because of its sacrificial properties”, said Prof. Khanna from IIT Mumbai, who has steered a study on corrosion in cars in Mumbai. The Professor stated that Indian cars which usually use coated steels, give the look and feel of international cars but not all cars provide perforation warranties, which is the right of the customer. Apart from these, use of Galvanized Advanced High Strength Steels helps in the reduction of car body weight, emissions and improves safety performance along with fuel efficiency, which is in line with the requirement of the new age cars for Indian roads.
Indian car makers use galvanized steel for the body panels, but only for the export models. Galvanized steel has been used for decades across Europe, North America, Japan and South Korea for body panels. The wide use is mainly owing to the regulatory frameworks in the developed economies.
“The overall benefit to the automaker is expected to more than offset the additional cost towards galvanizing” said Kenneth De Souza, Consultant (Canada) International Zinc Association, adding that emissions of a vehicle are expected to reduce as it gets lighter and lighter.
The sixth largest car manufacturer in the world, India is a key market for the automotive sector. Steady economic growth and robust consumption trends make it one of the most attractive regions for auto companies to launch their products and align the designs with international models.
A study by IIT Bombay proved that of the 500 odd cars surveyed, four major corroded areas merged: bonnet, boot, rocker and door panels.
The IZA has set up an International Galvanized Auto Body Partnership (GAP), in collaboration of the zinc, steel and automobile industries aligned in support of the market for advanced corrosion-resistant sheet steels in automobiles. The program aims to expand performance of galvanized advanced high strength steels through process improvements in automotive galvanizing lines and extending capabilities of zinc-based coatings.
Eighty percent of the GAP program funding comes from the steel industry, whose involvement in the design and direction of the program leads to direct transfer of results to the automotive industry. Many advanced vehicle designs are now making use of GAP program results. According to experts, the usage of high strength galvanized steel has several benefits including low maintenance, anti-perforation warranties or corrosion resistant materials are quite common.