Hyundai Steel expands auto parts portfolio with supply to Renault

At Hyundai Steel’s Yesan plant, heated hot-stamping materials are pressed to produce hot-stamping parts. (Hyundai Steel)

Hyundai Steel Co. is expanding its automotive parts portfolio with its recent supply of high-strength steel hot stamping parts to Renault Korea Motors Co.

When Maeil Business Newspaper visited Hyundai Steel‘s research center at the Dangjin Steel Works in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, recently, an electric vehicle prototype featuring Hyundai Steel’s hot-stamping parts was on display in the lobby.

These hot-stamping components, created by heating and pressing steel sheets before cooling, are primarily used as structural frames in car cabins for passenger protection.

The hot-stamping process enables the forming of complex interior parts, while the Tailor Welded Blanks (TWB) process reduces weight without compromising strength, improving overall crash performance.

Hyundai Steel is known to have begun its supply to Renault Korea in July. It marks an expansion of its supply capabilities in the global automotive market.

Traditionally, the company has supplied steel sheets and hot-stamping materials to automakers, but it now delivers fully formed parts.

Since July, Hyundai Steel has been providing 29 types of 1.5 gigapascal (GPa) hot-stamping parts for Renault’s flagship sport utility vehicle (SUV), the third-generation Grand Koleos, with an annual supply target of 60,000 units.

Renault Korea is Hyundai Steel’s first automaker apart from its sister companies Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. to receive its full line of hot-stamping parts.

Despite the challenges posed by the complex shapes of the Grand Koleos components, Hyundai Steel’s technical expertise enabled successful mass production.

Hyundai Steel secured the supply contract after a competitive bidding process in 2022, following technical exchanges with Renault Korea.

Globally, Hyundai Steel is one of only a few companies—including Germany’s ArcelorMittal SA and Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp.—capable of producing hot-stamping materials and handling welding and parts production.

While ArcelorMittal leads the European and North American markets, Hyundai Steel and Nippon Steel are narrowing the gap with their own advancements.

Since its start in hot-stamping material development in 2004, Hyundai Steel has expanded to 31 production lines across domestic and international sites, beginning with its first line for automotive parts in Dangjin in 2009.