The investment casting market has seen steady growth in recent years. However, with the rise of new energy vehicles (NEVs), new growth opportunities have emerged. NEVs rely heavily on lightweight materials to improve driving range, and investment casting can produce complex, lightweight components efficiently. As China pushes NEV adoption and manufacturers ramp up production, demand for investment castings is surging. This article analyzes trends in China’s NEV and casting markets, highlighting growth drivers and market outlook. Key takeaways include strong policy support fueling NEV growth, vehicle lightweighting creating casting demand, and integrated die casting gaining traction for vehicle parts production.
New energy vehicle market enjoys strong growth on policy support
China’s new energy vehicle market has seen rapid growth in recent years thanks to favorable government policies aimed at promoting electrification and reducing emissions. NEV sales in China grew 94% in 2022 to over 6 million units. Looking ahead, analysts predict the market could grow 30% annually to reach 20 million units by 2025. This fast-rising NEV production is creating significant demand for lightweight materials and advanced manufacturing techniques like investment casting.
Lightweighting drives casting adoption in electric vehicles
As battery technology remains largely unchanged, lightweighting is key to extending EV range. Vehicle weight reductions of 10% can increase range by 5-8%. Castings enable major weight savings by consolidating complex assemblies into single parts. Investment casting in particular excels at producing intricate, slim-walled components using lightweight alloys. EVs stand to benefit greatly from adopting castings, evident in Tesla using a single die cast aluminum piece for the entire Model Y rear underbody.
Integrated die casting gains traction led by new players
Integrated die casting takes casting consolidation even further by combining stamping and welding in one step. This simplifies manufacturing, reduces costs, and improves production efficiency. While still an emerging technology, integrated die casting is gaining rapid adoption in China’s surging NEV industry. Companies like NIO, Xpeng and WM Motor have either already implemented or have clear plans to manufacture models using integrated die castings, particularly for rear floor sections. As technology improves, integrated die castings could spread to front, middle and other body sections.
In summary, China’s burgeoning new energy vehicle market, underpinned by supportive policies, is creating immense opportunities for automotive casting suppliers. Lightweighting needs to extend EV driving range make castings an optimal production method for the many complex parts coming into demand. Integrated die casting technology in particular helps automakers manufacture components lighter, faster and cheaper. With NEV production volumes projected to grow rapidly in the coming years, China’s investment casting market looks primed for robust expansion as electric mobility takes off.