OREANDA-NEWS. August 30, 2011. GM (Shanghai) issues material approval certificate to Baosteel, that "Baosteel B409M, B439M, B436L stainless steel meets the GM specifications for exhaust system stainless steel, is recognized by General Motors (Shanghai), Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center and is allowed application on GM's global product. " This is the first time that GM issues such certificates to the steel supplier on worldwide level, reported the press-centre of Baosteel.

This shows that during more than three years, automotive exhaust system stainless steel localization project jointly promoted by GM Shanghai, Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center, Baosteel and Tenneco has finally come into fruition. The success of the project is a milestone of China-made stainless steel's application in automotive exhaust system, as well as a classic case of the joint development of domestic auto industry chain and steel industry and the realization of win-win value.

In recent years, with rapid development, domestic auto industry faces more severe challenges in cost and more stringent environmental threshold. With the increasing demands on auto fuel economy and auto exhaust emissions, emission standards become more stringent and conventional exhaust system cast metal and aluminum plated carbon steel material can not meet the requirements. As ferritic stainless steel has low thermal expansion coefficient, high corrosion resistance and more economical costs, it is used more widely in automotive exhaust system components. At present, almost all European and Japanese car manufacturers use ultra-purity ferritic stainless steel for exhaust system component manufacturing so as to meet requirements for lightweight vehicles and stringent exhaust emission. At home, car manufacturers are moving in that direction.

In February 2008, Baosteel allied with Shanghai GM, Pan Asia Technical Center and  Tenneco, the largest domestic manufacturer of automotive exhaust system and officially launched the "GM Baosteel B409M automotive exhaust system stainless steel localization" project and begun three years and five months long domestic stainless steel material certification which was of long period, well-rounded and of full angle.

The material certification introduced third-party certification and selected relevant domestic universities and research institutes with outstanding professional research  performance, such as Shanghai Jiaotong University, Beijing University of Technology, and  Shanghai University. Three Baosteel ferritic stainless steel products including B409M has passed five certification processes: material level, manufacturing test, system level test, vehicle level test, after-sales material corrosion life expectancy assessment. On August 2009, B409M was the first to pass the certification, full material switching was achieved in  two models: GM (Shanghai) Excelle and Cruze, which successful replaced imported materials. Since then, the joint team conducted comparative analysis of Baosteel B409M and imported material after-sales material corrosion life expectancy.

In Nanjing, Shanghai and other five cities, silencer samples made of Baosteel B409M and imported material were extracted for comparison test. Test analysis by Shanghai University showed that  parts made of Baosteel materials had better corrosion resistance than parts made of imported materials. In June this year, B436L, B439M also passed certification and were included in GM global material procurement standard system along with B409M. So far, Shanghai GM has achieved full localization of existing car model exhaust system ferritic stainless steel.

The success of the project creates new cooperation model among raw material suppliers, system suppliers and OEMs and creates a number of first times - It is the first time for it to establish raw material and auto complete system validation methods and processes, the first time to develop auto exhaust system stainless steel normative standards, the first time to establish after-sales sampling verification of reasonable material application. It is reported that Shanghai GM will switch to Baosteel material in the new Regal, the new Grand Hyatt, the new Epica and GL8 commercial vehicles and prepare to introduce B409M material into SAIC Group subsidiaries such as GM Wuling and Shanghai Auto, etc.