Could Tesla's Gigabit Casting Technology Be the Future of Electric Vehicles? Toyota's response was surprising!
Electric vehicles are a hot topic in today's automotive industry, and Tesla, as a valuable global automaker, has been leading the way in fundamental changes in the way cars are made. Tesla CEO Elon Musk believes that the traditional assembly process for battery-powered vehicles needs to change to simplify and accelerate car manufacturing with fewer suppliers and models.
One of Tesla's core technologies is "Gigacasting," which uses a casting machine to press molten metal into a mold under high pressure to produce large aluminum body parts, such as the entire underside of a vehicle. This allows 100 parts to be replaced with one part, saving time, labor, cost, and factory space, replacing multiple robots that weld automotive parts together with a single machine. The use of aluminum for gigacasting is also a response to the way heavy-duty car batteries are reshaping the way cars are designed.
Musk said he first had the idea after looking at a child's die-cast toy car and wondered why it couldn't be replicated in a real car. Since 2020, Tesla has been using gigacast casting as the manufacturing method for its Model Y sport utility vehicle. Musk also plans to use the technology to build an entire body of the body, forcing other automakers to think about bigger issues.
Some auto executives and analysts expect Tesla's process, which Musk calls "gigacasting," will set a new benchmark for car manufacturing, replacing the much-admired Toyota production system based on just-in-time manufacturing efficiency.
So, how does Toyota, the world's largest automaker, respond to Tesla's challenge? Will Toyota also adopt gigabit casting technology to increase the production of electric vehicles?
The answer may surprise you. Toyota has said it doesn't plan to adopt Tesla's approach to mass manufacturing, relying instead on its decades of experience to find its own way. Toyota's new president, Koji Sato, is working hard to prove that the company's well-crafted approach to producing millions of vehicles in multiple configurations each year will continue to maintain a competitive edge in the era of electric vehicles.
Toyota is considering whether splitting the underbody into parts of production could reduce repair and insurance costs — a potentially important factor for an automaker with a much larger global market than Tesla. Toyota is also working on the same technology, aiming to massively ramp up electric vehicle production. During a series of factory tours in September, company executives acknowledged that Tesla and other electric vehicle makers in China have a lot to learn.
Toyota aims to cut process and plant investments in half. But executives are wary of producing vehicles with a single molded underbody. As it stands, replacing one damaged part in a vehicle is relatively cheap and easy. If the entire bottom has to be replaced, it will lead to a significant increase in the number of vehicles that are too expensive to repair.
Toyota says it remains committed to what it calls a "multi-path approach," which relies on a variety of cars sold in more than 170 countries, including many countries that may still not be able to afford electric vehicles in the coming years. Toyota has plans to sell 3.5 million battery-powered vehicles annually from 2030. But this year, the company still expects to sell only 123,000 pure electric vehicles this fiscal year, compared to vehicle sales, with an annual sales target of 11.4 million units.
In conclusion, Tesla and Toyota have different strategies and technologies when it comes to EV manufacturing. Could Tesla's Gigabit Casting Technology Be the Future of Electric Vehicles? Can Toyota's traditional approach continue to hold the edge in the era of electric vehicles? These questions have yet to be tested by time and the market. What are your thoughts on this? Welcome to leave a message in the comment area, thank you for reading.
