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The automotive industry is continually striving to improve product performance and fuel efficiency by reducing the weight of the vehicle. The development of tailored blanks, where flat sheets are butt welded together and then formed into components has proved to be extremely beneficial in these industrial sectors by weight saving and reduction cost. Laser beam welding, a well established technique for steel is also of special interest for aluminium alloys because the competing resistance welding technique has shown particular difficulties with these materials. However, aluminium alloys have been notoriously difficult to join using lasers due to problems related to their high surface reflectivity, high thermal conductivity, and for some alloys, low boiling point constituents. These, and other material related issues, have led to weld and heat-affected zone (HAZ) cracking, porosity, and degradation in mechanical properties and inconsistent welding performance.