The Lightweight Forging Initiative is an initiative of the Industrieverband Massivumformung e.V. (German Forging Association). In the third phase of the collaborative project, which started in 2017, the project partners devoted their efforts to determining the weight-reduction potential of hybrid cars and conventional heavy commercial vehicles in terms of the chassis, powertrain, transmission, and electronic components. 37 participants from Western Europe, the US, and Japan worked together on this phase of the project to elaborate a total of 1,000 new lightweight design ideas for the forging of steel components. The resulting ideas provide for a reduction in weight of around 217 kg - 93 kg for a car and 124 kg for a heavy commercial vehicle. The parts of a hybrid-drive 4x4 SUV and of a heavy goods vehicle dismantled by research facility fka Forschungsgesellschaft Kraftfahrwesen mbH were used as a basis for the investigations.

The Initiative plans to provide industry with the newly gained detailed knowledge through talks at trade fairs and events and via the trade press. The solutions, which promise to cut CO2 emissions, facilitate higher cargo loads, reduce fuel consumption, and improve material and resource efficiency, should thereby spark interest among developers, designers, and buyers. Lightweight design is in particular gaining in importance when it comes to electrified logistics : Each reduction in weight extends the range of the vehicle in question, thereby enhancing its efficiency.