Major Japanese steel producer Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metals Corp (NSSMC) expects the requirements for car-making materials to become more diverse and advanced as automotive producers try to make vehicles that are lighter, stronger and more environmentally friendly.
"Rapid innovations in information technology such as artificial intelligence, a shift to electric [power] and other new energy vehicles [NEVs], and the adoption of self-driving vehicles are expected to bring significant changes to society and industry," NSSMC said in its mid-term plan, published on Friday March 2."Requirements for properties of materials are becoming diverse and advanced. Automobiles are becoming lighter and more electrified, and...