Are any cars made of steel?
Yes. Most cars contain steel in some form. It remains the backbone of structure and safety for most models, though the exact mix varies widely.
Automakers increasingly blend steel with aluminum, magnesium, composites, and other materials to improve efficiency and performance. The steel used today covers a spectrum from ultra-high-strength varieties that shape crumple zones to stainless grades used in exhausts, with the exact composition depending on the model, market, and engineering goals.
Types of steel favored by automakers
Below are the main steel families and grades you’ll encounter in modern cars, along with their typical roles in safety, weight management, and manufacturing.
- Advanced High-Strength Steel (AHSS): A broad category that includes several sub-grades used for structural components and crumple zones, helping protect occupants while keeping weight reasonable.
- Dual-Phase (DP) steel: Combines good strength with formability for body-in-white parts and chassis components.
- Boron steel and hot-stamped steel: Very high-strength steels used in critical reinforcement areas, often manufactured through hot stamping to create strong, crash-tworthy parts.
- Ultra-High-Strength Steel (UHSS): An even stronger subset of AHSS used in key load paths and safety-related members.
- Martenitic steel: Used in select components where wear resistance or stiffness is important within a steel-based design.
- Stainless steel: Less common in entire car bodies, but widely used in exhaust systems and certain trim or special-edition components; notable examples include niche or concept cars and some high-end applications.
In practice, the vast majority of mainstream cars rely on a mix of AHSS, DP, and UHSS for the main structure, with stainless or aluminum or composites appearing in specific parts or models to reduce weight or improve corrosion resistance.
Where steel shows up in a typical vehicle
Here is where you’re most likely to find steel in a modern car, from the shell to the exhaust.
- Body-in-white and chassis: The primary safety and rigidity backbone is built from various steel grades, especially AHSS and UHSS, distributed across pillars, rails, cross-members, and crash-relevant sections.
- Crash structures and safety reinforcements: Front and rear crumple zones, side-impact beams, and other energy-absorbing components rely on high-strength steels to manage crash energy.
- Suspension and mounting hardware: Many control arms, brackets, and mountings are steel, chosen for stiffness and durability.
- Exhaust systems and trim: Stainless steel is common for exhaust pipes, silencers, and heat shields because of its heat and corrosion resistance.
- Wheels and certain trims: Steel wheels remain common on some base or work-oriented models, while most passenger cars use aluminum alloys for wheels; steel still plays a role in heavy-duty applications.
Overall, steel anchors most vehicle architectures for safety, stiffness, and cost, while other materials are layered in to save weight or improve performance where it makes sense.
Notable exceptions and trends
There are some high-profile departures from the traditional steel-heavy approach, reflecting ongoing material science and market demands.
- Tesla Cybertruck: Aimed to use a stainless steel exoskeleton (a form of 304 stainless steel) for its outer shell, illustrating a bold departure from conventional steel bodies.
- DeLorean DMC-12 (classic example): Famously used a stainless steel body and frame treatment, making it one of the most distinctive steel-bodied cars ever produced.
- Aluminum- and composite-heavy vehicles: Some mainstream models increasingly feature aluminum-intensive bodies and composites in doors, panels, and structural members to cut weight and improve efficiency, especially in electrified and performance-oriented applications.
Despite these exceptions, steel remains the default material for most mass-market cars due to cost, availability, and proven crash performance, with the trend toward optimized steel grades continuing alongside lighter materials.
Summary
Steel is still the cornerstone material in most cars. Modern vehicles rely heavily on advanced high-strength and ultra-high-strength steels to balance safety, rigidity, and weight, while alternative materials like aluminum and composites are used selectively to reduce mass and improve efficiency. Notable outliers—such as fully stainless-steel exoskeleton designs—show the spectrum of innovation in the industry, but for the vast majority of vehicles, steel is very much a core element of the design and manufacturing toolkit.
