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General Motors Co.is mating Goodyear’s Fuel Max radials with lightweight forged aluminum wheels from Alcoa Automotive Wheels on the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco, a high-mileage version of the carmaker’s new compact.

Alcoa claims GM’s 17-inch wheels are 20 percent lighter than comparable cast aluminum wheels, helping to reduce the car’s weight. GM is promoting the six-speed Cruze Eco as capable of 40 mpg on the highway.

The four-door hatchback Cruze Eco is powered by a turbocharged 1.4-liter Ecotec four-cylinder engine rated at 138 hp. It also features tweaks such as a lower front grille air shutter that closes at higher speeds to improve aerodynamics and opens at lower speeds to optimize engine-cooling airflow, GM said.

Not only do forged aluminum wheels reduce mass to help lower emissions and fuel consumption, Alcoa said, they also improve driving performance and efficiency by reducing unsprung weight.

“Closely following the launch of our Volt wheel program, the Chevrolet team pursued a wheel providing lightweight performance that would further extend fuel economy for this latest vehicle,” Victor Marquez, vice president and general manager for Alcoa Auto Wheels, said in a statement earlier this week.

Alcoa’s contract for the Cruze is a multiyear deal, the company said. The wheels are made at Alcoa’s Cleveland plant.

The Cruze is expected in dealers’ showrooms this fall. GM has not released sales expectations for the vehicle, which it is pitching as an alternative to hybrids.