Automotive manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra has introduced India’s first injection moulded plastic fenders on the new critically acclaimed global XUV500 sports utility vehicle (SUV), upgrading from steel to lightweight online paintable Sabic Noryl GTX resin.

The switch, made with support from its Tier 1 supplier Plastic Omnium, has helped Mahindra & Mahindra to improve the SUV’s fuel economy, reduce emissions, greatly expand design freedom, and enhance resistance against minor impact, Sabic said in a statement. The use of Noryl GTX resin for the fenders helps make the global XUV500 one of the lightest SUVs in its class.

“This collaboration demonstrates Sabic’s commitment to providing automotive customers with thermoplastic solutions that help drive the development of cutting-edge styling for differentiated designs and improved sustainability through weight-out,” Sabic said.

To create the first injection moulded plastic fender in India, Mahindra & Mahindra turned to Sabic.

Sabic provided application development assistance in addition to the Noryl GTX resin, which helped meet the OEM’s requirements of exceptional light weight, online painting capability, improved gap and flush, and excellent low-speed impact resistance. The resin also gave Mahindra & Mahindra significant freedom to create aggressively flared fenders with accentuated curves.

The biggest contributor to weight-out in a range of automotive applications is the conversion of metal to plastic. This led Mahindra & Mahindra to replace steel in the global XUV500 SUV’s fenders with Noryl GTX resin.

This Sabic resin, which can be up to 50 per cent lighter than steel, reduced the fender weight by 0.9 kg (1.98 lbs.) – a weight savings of 27 per cent. The material also helped Mahindra & Mahindra meet customer demand for excellent aesthetics and muscular styling, greater impact strength and anti-corrosion performance. In day-to-day vehicle operation, Noryl GTX resin’s enhanced resilience compared to steel allows the XUV500’s fender to flex and absorb energy to regain its original shape, reducing repair costs. Additionally, the design flexibility provided by the resin eliminated the multiple steps, tools and operations that are required to manufacture steel fenders.

Mahindra & Mahindra further benefitted from Noryl GTX resin’s high flow performance, a critical requirement for high-quality, large-part moulding. Further, the resins’ ability to withstand the high temperatures of online painting allowed the fender to be integrated into the production process.

Noryl GTX resin is a blend of polyamide (PA) and modified polyphenylene ether (MPPE) polymer technologies, which combines the dimensional stability, low water absorption, and outstanding heat resistance of MPPE with the chemical resistance and flow of PA.