This project is a comprehensive simulation study to investigate the relationship between mass reduction and fuel consumption conducted by Forschungsgesellschaft Kraftfahrwesen mbH Aachen (fka) on behalf of WorldAutosteel. In this study the influence of weight reduction on fuel consumption was analysed through simulations. In doing so three different vehicle types (compact, mid-size, SUV), five different propulsion systems (gasoline engine, diesel engine, gasoline hybrid, diesel hybrid, fuel cell) and two different driving cycles (NEDC, HYZEM) were considered. The study also contains a literature survey which analyses the current perceptions about mass sensitivity of internal combustion engine vehicles, hybrid vehicles and fuel cell vehicles. Besides the analysis of the vehicles with its base weight and a reduced weight, vehicles with reduced weight and powertrain re-sizing were examined as well. All simulation results were compared and assessed. In addition the fundamentals of the alternative propulsion systems were explained.

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This report, published by the American Iron and Steel Institute's Auto/Steel Partnership, defines and quantifies the mass compounding effect during vehicle design with current mass influence coefficients developed from mass data of 35 contemporary vehicles. Also available is a Mass Compounding Calculator, an Excel Spreadsheet that implements the findings of the mass compounding study into a tool for estimating initial vehicle mass based on conventional vehicle baselines and calculating the additional mass savings possible from an initial mass reduction of a vehicle system(s) or component(s).

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