ATLANTA, March 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Novelis announced today that it has been selected as the main supplier of aluminum sheet for the redesigned Audi A8 luxury sedan.  Audi has long been a pioneer in incorporating lightweight design into its vehicles and is taking this to a new level with the aluminum-intensive A8.  The latest model, which was recently unveiled, will use Novelis Fusion™ technology to achieve weight savings not previously possible in automotive structural components.

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"Novelis is delighted to be the largest supplier of aluminum sheet for the new A8," said Tadeu Nardocci, president of Novelis Europe.  "We are particularly excited that Audi is using our proprietary Novelis Fusion™ technology for the first time and that we are able to create this weight-saving opportunity for our customer."

Novelis has entered into an agreement with Audi for the supply of the aluminum sheet that will be used for a number of outer panels and design-critical structural components.  The outer panels are the hood, deck lid, doors and the roof.  The structural components include the complete floor tunnel and various reinforcements.  

The agreement extends the long-running relationship between the car manufacturer and Novelis, which is widely-recognized as a global leader in the production of aluminum sheet for the automotive sector.  Novelis will supply specially-treated 6000-series automotive sheet as well as its Novelis Fusion™ AS250 sheet.  Novelis Fusion™ is an innovative, patented, multi-layer aluminum technology that Novelis has dubbed "The new aluminum™" because it offers performance benefits that are not achievable with conventional aluminum.  

Audi says that one of its most enduring aims is to reverse the "weight spiral" - the trend towards increasing vehicle weight with successive models. Lightweight design is the foundation of the company's entire approach to improving efficiency.  To help fulfill this ambition for the next generation of the A8, Audi set itself the target of increasing the strength of the load-bearing components in the car by 25 percent.  The use of Novelis Fusion™ has enabled Audi to meet this goal for the floor tunnel, thus reducing overall vehicle weight and meeting the latest global crash requirements.  It is the unique combination of core properties and surface characteristics provided by the multi-alloy composition of Novelis Fusion™ that makes this possible.  In this instance, Novelis Fusion™ was chosen instead of a dual-phase steel solution, which would not have achieved the weight reduction required by Audi.

About Novelis

Novelis Inc. is the global leader in aluminum rolled products and aluminum can recycling.  The company operates in 11 countries, has approximately 12,000 employees and reported revenue of $10.2 billion in its 2009 fiscal year.  Novelis supplies premium aluminum sheet and foil products to automotive, transportation, packaging, construction, industrial, electronics and printing markets throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia.  Novelis is a subsidiary of Hindalco Industries Limited (BSE: HINDALCO), one of Asia's largest integrated producers of aluminum and a leading copper producer.  Hindalco is a flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, a multinational conglomerate based in Mumbai, India.  For more information, please visit www.novelis.com and www.the-new-aluminum.com.

SOURCE Novelis Inc.

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