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GM Approves Three Baosteel Stainless Steels

08/22/2011 - General Motors (Shanghai) recently issued a material approval certificate to Baosteel stating that "Baosteel B409M, B439M, B436L stainless steel meets the GM specifications for exhaust system stainless steel...and is allowed application on GM's global product."

General Motors (Shanghai) recently issued a material approval certificate to Baosteel stating 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."
 
Baosteel notes that this is the first time that GM has issued such a certificate to the steel supplier on worldwide level. The exhaust system stainless steel is the result of a localization project begun in February 2008 that was jointly promoted by GM Shanghai, Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center, Baosteel, and Tenneco.
 
With emissions standards becoming more stringent, 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, according to Baosteel.
 
The material certification introduced third-party certification through domestic universities and research institutes with outstanding professional research performance, such as Shanghai Jiaotong University, Beijing University of Technology, and Shanghai University. The three Baosteel ferritic stainless steel products passed five certification processes: material level, manufacturing test, system level test, vehicle level test, and after-sales material corrosion life expectancy assessment.
 
In August 2009, B409M was the first to pass the certification; full material switching was achieved in two models: GM (Shanghai) Excelle and Cruze, successfully replacing 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 five other 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 2011, B436L and B439M also passed certification and were included in the GM global material procurement standard system along with B409M. Shanghai GM has achieved full localization of existing car model exhaust system ferritic stainless steel.
 
The success of the project creates a new cooperation model among raw material suppliers, system suppliers, and OEMs and resulted in several firsts, according to Baosteel. For example, it is the first time to establish raw material and auto complete system validation methods and processes, the first time to develop auto exhaust system stainless steel normative standards, and the first time to establish after-sales sampling verification of reasonable material application.
 
According to Baosteel, 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.