In response to ever more challenging global fuel economy and environmental regulations, automakers will rely on lightweighting to continue to meet the established goals. As “bolt-on” subassemblies, closure panels provide a unique opportunity to tailor the vehicle mass to achieve local environmental compliance relative to a global vehicle platform while maintaining equivalent functionality and safety performance. This paper is aimed at communicating the results of a life cycle assessment (LCA) study which compares the lightweight auto parts of the new Magna’s Ultralight Door design to the conventional auto parts of the baseline 2016 MY Chrysler 200C 6 cyl, 3.6 L, automatic 9-spd, an ICE vehicle (gasoline fueled) built and driven for 250,000 km in North America (NA) [1].
Magna International Inc. (Magna), in cooperation with the United States Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) and partners FCA US LLC (FCA US) and Grupo Antolin, developed a new ultralight door architecture in 2017 that achieved around 40% overall mass reduction compared to the baseline door. Magna’s Ultralight door LCA study is conducted in accordance with International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards 14040/44 and follow the specific rules and guidance provided in the CSA Group 2014 LCA Guidance document for auto parts [2, 3, 4].