In the past decade, the automobile manufacturing industry has become accustomed to using stamping to produce body parts for cars, until the emergence of Tesla, die casting technology gradually entered the public vision, and this has become the secret of Tesla's low cost. Until some time ago, there was news that Xiaopeng Automobile would use a 12,000-ton die-casting unit, and said that Weilai and Ideal also planned to follow, and many people clapped their hands for a while.
But the latest news may be to pour cold water on everyone, recently a Tesla Model Y accidentally crashed into the rear wall when reversing, resulting in damage to the rear part of the rear car, according to Tesla's official after-sales staff, because the vehicle's rear shock absorber package was damaged, but the maintenance cost was estimated to reach about 200,000 yuan, which also had to re-examine the "pros" and "cons" of integrated die casting.
What about integrated die casting?
In the production of automobiles, the manufacture of large parts such as automobile bodies or front and rear bottom plates basically maintains the car-making process of decades ago. The welding, riveting and other processes between parts are less difficult, but each structural adjustment means that dozens of parts have to start from scratch, which is the majority of the cost of making cars.
Since Tesla applied integrated die casting, this technology has been called the process revolution of the automotive world. Tesla's integrated die casting is to integrate and compress more than 70 parts required for the original body into 1 part. After adopting the integrated die casting technology, the cost of the Tesla Model Y was reduced by 20% and the raw material utilization rate was achieved by 100%. All-in-one die casting reduces material, cost and time, while guaranteeing safety and comfort.
Good for car companies, what about consumers?
For consumers, the cost of repairs has also become a major problem, as mentioned at the beginning of the Tesla owners. Because the integrated die-casting parts can only be replaced and cannot be repaired, the cost of maintenance has also become a major hidden danger, corresponding to the rise in premiums. After the launch of the new energy insurance policy at the end of last year, Tesla's premium reached more than 14,000 yuan, an increase of up to 80%, which is inseparable from the high premium.
However, we can see more and more car companies trying to enter the insurance brokerage business, such as Weilai, Xiaopeng and other car companies have set up insurance brokerage companies, or launched exclusive insurance for new energy models. If the car company carries out insurance pricing, it will obviously have more advantages than with the insurance company, which can be used by the car company to crack the way of the premium price increase of some new energy companies, so there may be more solutions to the maintenance and premium concerns in the future.
What does it mean for new forces to enter the game?
As a new force embracing new technologies, they are also bravely following suit. Some time ago, Xiaopeng ordered a 12,000-ton die-casting machine, while Tesla's die-casting machine was only 8,000 tons. At the end of last year, WEILAI also developed a heat-free treatment material for large die castings. We all know that in order to win the market, Xiaopeng Automobile focuses on cost performance, and it is difficult to have room for maneuver in terms of price. Limited by the current scale, Xiaopeng Automobile's parts bargaining power is low, and the threshold of the price also determines the low gross profit margin of its models.
The application of integrated die-casting technology will continue to dilute manufacturing costs, with the reduction of costs, follow-up car companies also have the opportunity to give profits to consumers, and the rise in gross profit margins is more conducive to the healthy development of car companies.
Write at the end
The application of integrated die-casting technology can be seen that Tesla's catfish effect is still continuously affecting the development of China's electric vehicle industry chain. For consumers, in addition to safety, comfort and other aspects, perhaps maintenance costs are a matter of concern to many people, but it can be seen that car companies have paid attention to this problem, so with the application of die casting technology, both sides will become the biggest beneficiaries.