The aluminum company Novelis, headquartered in Atlanta, has announced plans to increase the price for all of its automotive aluminum sheet products in Europe y 160 Euros (US$209.45) per ton. The company notes that the price change is effective immediately for all new orders not covered by current supply agreements.

“The price increase announced reflects the strong demand for our automotive sheet products, which has resulted in a prevailing tight supply situation," says Roland Harings, vice president of Global Automotive for Novelis Inc. "Automobile manufacturers are increasingly turning to aluminum as the material of choice to reduce vehicle mass and help meet new targets in performance, fuel efficiency and reduced emissions. In response to this demand, we are expanding our capacity to meet growing customer requirements for high-volume delivery of Novelis aluminum for a new generation of lighter-weight vehicles."

The company is currently investing more than $310 million to increase its production of aluminum sheet products for automotive manufacturers. In addition to established plants in Nachterstedt, Germany, and Sierre, Switzerland, the company recently qualified its plant in Göttingen, Germany, as a third location in Europe to serve the automotive market.

“In addition to this expansion in Europe,” Harings notes, “we have new automotive sheet expansions under way in Oswego, N.Y., and Changzhou, China, to serve our customers’ rapidly expanding global needs. These moves, along with our continued focus on developing innovations in the automotive aluminum industry – including new high-recycled content alloys and extending our closed-loop recycling business model – further demonstrate our commitment to remaining the aluminum sheet leader for the automotive market.”