This paper introduction was written based on the "Market Overview Giga Casting and Giga Presses in the Automotive Industry" published by anp management consulting GmbH, Essen, Germany. Last update: Essen, 8th of January 2024.
Introduction
This document provides a market overview of giga casting and giga presses within the automotive industry. It highlights market trends, latest news, cost considerations, key players, and specific implementations by various automotive manufacturers.
Market Trends
- EV Chassis Market: The global market for EV chassis integrated die-casting is projected to increase significantly, reaching $2.6 billion by 2030, up from $751 million currently (Source: Minsheng Securities).
- Aluminum Die Casting Market: The global aluminum die casting market was valued at nearly $73 billion last year and is projected to reach $126 billion by 2032, according to an AlixPartners analysis based on Apollo Reports data.
Latest News (2023/2024)
- An OL 6.100 t Giga Press with the Ford brand printed on it, had been assembled and was being tested in IDRA's plant in Travalgiato, Italy.
- LK Technology together with IDRA Group, held a signing ceremony with Nezha Motors, where both parties reached a deep strategic cooperation on the joint development of a 20.000 tons Giga Press. The goal is to produce the entire chassis in one shot.
- LK Machinery before has unveiled their massive 16,000-ton Giga Press.
- Subaru has announced interest in Gigacasting technology. Nothing confirmed though so far.
- The new Linamar facility in Welland, Ont., will be the first North American auto parts supplier-owned and operated gigacasting plant.
- Works on Volvo's new Slovakian factory have begun. The plant will adopt Giga Press technology. In particular, two OL 9,000 made by IDRA will be installed at the plant to make Volvo's next. generation EVs.
Giga Press Costs (in China)
- 6,000 ton ~ € 6,000,000 (DCC 6000 Impress Plus L.K.)
- 9,000 ton ~ €10,500,000 (estimation)
- 12,000 ton > €14,500,000
- 16,000 ton ~ € 20,000,000 (estimation)
- Peripheral equipment costs: approximately €8 million.
- Logistic costs (from IDRA): approx. 10-15% of the machine's value.
- Tooling costs are a significant contributor to part price. Gigacastings often utilize alloys like AlSi7CuMg (for Tesla) or AlSi7MnMg (for OEMs like Volkswagen or Volvo).
- The gross win rate of large die casting machines is 10-15 points higher than that of ordinary die casting machines, and the net win rate is between 15-20%.
Sources: 6,000 ton: LK Machinery, 12,000 ton: Horizon Insights
Giga Press Facts
- OEM Giga Presses can generally produce about 120,000 parts annually, depending on plant size.
- This figure is variable, influenced by component thickness and shape.
- Each part takes approximately two minutes to produce.
- Changeover times and full plant availability impact the overall number of parts.
- A manufacturer targeting 500,000 BEVs annually would require four to five Giga Presses for rear components. Doubling the number of machines is necessary to include front components.
- Each press can produce various components by switching the moulds.
Major Machinery Suppliers
The market is currently dominated by Asian Suppliers.
- Bühler, Switzerland (LINK)
- Chongqing Daijang Millison Die Casting Co. Ltd. (LINK)
- Guangdong Hongtu Technology (Holdings) Co. Ltd. (LINK)
- Haitian Die Casting (LINK)
- IDRA (owned by Chinese L. K. Technology Holdings Ltd.), Italy (LINK)
- IDRA has so far signed orders for 25 presses, 21 of which have already been produced and shipped, including to leading "Tier 1" parts makers.
- ItalPresse Gauss (LINK)
- L. K. Technology Holdings Ltd. (LINK)
- Ningbo Haitian Precision Machinery Co., Ltd., China (LINK)
- Shibaura Machine, Japan (LINK)
- Ube Machinery Corporation Ltd., Japan (LINK)
- Yizumi, China (LINK)
Automaker Implementations (Examples)
The document then details specific giga casting initiatives from various automakers, including:
- Aisin: Plans to use gigacasting to produce aluminum components for EVs; investing $3.4B in BEV and intelligence products.
- Bühler: Received an order for four Carat 610 extended megacasting solutions from a major US OEM.
- GM: Using mega castings on the Cadillac Celestiq, leveraging "mega precision sand casting."
- Huawei: Partnering with Seres to produce rear underbody sections for the Aito M9 using large, high-pressure casting machines.
- Hyundai: Introducing Tesla-style 'Hypercasting' in 2026.
- Lexus: Lexus LF-ZC and Lexus LF-ZL will use gigacasting to create a new modular structure that is split into front, centre and rear sections.
- Mercedes-Benz: Planning to use mega-casting for its EQXX concept car, featuring "bionic design."
- NIO: Ordered injection molding machines capable of 12,000 tons of force from IDRA; using mega-casting for rear sub-frames; exploring magnesium casting.
- Ryobi: Producing large EV body parts using "gigacasting."
- Tesla: Working on 'Gigacasting' tech to mold underbody in one piece; efficiency in design allows Cybertruck Front Castings to use existing Giga Presses.
- Toyota: Plans to adopt megacasting technology in electric vehicles (EVs) to be sold in 2026.
- Volkswagen: Recently unveiled their first attempt at a megacast that will eventually underpin their Trinity electric vehicle.
- Volvo: Investing in megacasting technologies for its Torslanda plant.
- Xiaomi: Xiaomi has unveiled its self-developed Xiaomi Die-Casting T9100 cluster and proprietary die-casting alloy material, Xiaomi Titans Metal,.
- XPENG: XPENG has ordered injection molding machines from IDRA.
- ZEEKR: Geely's EV brand Zeekr jumps on the 'gigapress' bandwagon and launched its new vehicle built using a rear Gigacasting.
Critical Voices
- Magna is skeptical about Tesla-driven move to megacasting.
- Professor Wolfram Volk from the Technical University of Munich raises concerns about the complexity of aluminium die casting and its impact on scrap rates.
- The French Automobile Distribution Federation (FEDA) recently issued an alert about the risks of giga press technology.
Conclusion
The document provides a snapshot of the rapidly evolving landscape of giga casting in the automotive industry, highlighting both its potential benefits and associated challenges. It emphasizes the increasing adoption of this technology, particularly for electric vehicle production, and the strategic importance of large-scale die casting equipment.
This summary is based solely on the provided document and reflects the information contained therein.