Constellium N.V announced the supply of aluminum car body panels for the hoods of several PSA Group vans, including the new Peugeot partner and Citroen Berlingo Van (Citroen Berlingo Van), and the Peugeot Rifter. Although PSA Group often uses aluminum in passenger cars, this is the company's first use of aluminum body panels for light commercial vehicles.
"We are proud of our cooperation with the PSA Group for more than 20 years," said Dieter Hoell, vice president of global automotive for the Constellium Packaging and Rolling Products business unit. "This new project is another step we have taken forward in the development of the PSA Group, while also passing on the advantages of aluminum products to the entire vehicle."
These trucks will use Surfalex® aluminum panels as the outer cover. The material was developed by Constellium to meet the strict requirements of high surface quality with specific crimping and rope characteristics. For the inner cover, the company is providing aluminum material solutions designed to achieve excellent formability and mechanical resistance, so that complex geometries can be efficiently processed on customers' equipment.
Constellium also provides a front collision management system for this series of trucks. Aluminum is the ideal material for these systems because it provides excellent energy absorption properties that can protect passengers and vehicles in the event of a collision. The bumper beam and crash box are extruded components, allowing the company to design a lightweight crash management system to meet customer requirements for size, shape, packaging space and strength.
The Berlingo Van (Berlingo Van) uses an aluminum cover and a collision management system and was named the 2019 International Model at the Hannover Commercial Vehicle Trade Show.