Volvo might be installing Giga Presses in China

Støtek, the Danish die casting furnaces supplier, very popular among Giga Press users was reported to be installing new furnaces to Volvo’s Daqing plant in China.

“It is reported that the melting furnace is specially designed for Volvo's 8,400 tons super large die casting unit" reported YZWeekly.

If the news is true then Volvo is likely installing at least two or more Giga Presses in China as well, other than two 8,400 tons Giga Presses in Sweden and two 9,000 tons machines in Slovakia.

It wouldn't surprise me as in a recent documentary by CNBC, Volvo made it clear that every new vehicle will adopt this technology, not doing so in China would be insane.

So far none of my contacts at Volvo replied to requests for comment.

Meanwhile on the old continent, Takenaka, a Slovakian construction company, celebrated the Topping Out ceremony for the first phase of Volvo’s next generation EV factory in Slovakia.

The first phase included a foundry for two 9,000 tons Giga Presses, a press shop, a body shop and a paint shop. The second phase, which just begun construction, includes a battery production and assembly hall and will play a vital role in making the factory fully operational.

Unfortunately, Slovakian newspapers report that Volvo is still unsure about which vehicle is going to be built over there, which is not a good sign.

Xiaomi is expanding its manufacturing capabilities

Xiaomi purchased more than 500,000 sq meters of land west of its factory in Beijing where the SU7 is currently being produced.

The size of this plot is roughly 70% the size of land on which Tesla Giga Shanghai is built.

Recently, the Chinese tech giant received the qualification of independent manufacturer, before BAIC group was the official manufacturer of Xiaomi’s vehicles.

For its first factory, Xiaomi purchased two custom made 9,500 tons Giga Presses from Haitian to make the Rear Underbody Gigacastings of its SU7, although the clamping force required is only 9,100 tons.

In July, for the second month in a row, the newcomer delivered more than 10,000 units in a month and now they are set to smash the target of 100,000 deliveries by the end of 2024.

Following the current trajectory they are likely to achieve this goal in November.

In my opinion it is very likely that Xiaomi will buy more machines for its future models and probably start to utilize Front Gigacastings as well.

Rumors indicate that Xiaomi’s next vehicle will be a mid size SUV called SU8.

Huawei backs down from EV manufacturing

As a wise man once said; “Prototypes are easy, production is hard”

Huawei appears to be scaling down its manufacturing ambitions and instead focusing on providing services as a “platform operator” and supplier.

The news comes after Huawei sold their best selling brand, AITO and all its patents to the manufacturing company SERES for 343 million dollars.

The AITO M9 is not only built with Gigacastings but also with one of the most impressive aluminum castings in the automotive industry.

FAW Group showcases a 39 kg Magnesium Gigacasting 

The one in the picture is a Rear Underbody Gigacasting made by FAW Foundry, it weighs 39.4 kg.

For comparison the Rear Underbody of a Model Y made with Tesla’s aluminum alloy weighs 66.5 kg according to Munro Live (YouTube).

The Gigacasting in the image is just a prototype and won’t be used in serial production.

But FAW really wants to use magnesium alloy for the integrated underbody parts of the Hongqi brand and recently took delivery of the first 9,000 tons Giga Press made by Yizumi.

FAW Foundry is developing high corrosion resistance and high strength magnesium alloys as well as magnesium processing equipment.

The casting was photographed at the Shanghai expo and was sent to me by one of my X followers.

Update on Honda’s unique strategy regarding Gigacastings

For its future Fully Electric Vehicles Honda has engineered something called "Intelligent Power Unit" (IPU).

This IPU is a lightweight and thin new battery pack architecture which uses a die cast battery tray instead of one made with stamped sheets, reducing the number of components and integrating more parts into one or two pieces.

In Ohio, USA, Honda is renovating the Anna engine plant to accommodate six 6,100 tons Giga Presses made by BühlerPrince in Michigan.

The six Giga Presses will produce battery tray halves. The dimension of the parts will vary depending on the size of the vehicle as you can see in this image.

All the machines should be installed by the end of 2025 and be ready for mass production in 2026.

In China, Honda has created a new brand called "Ye".

Ye will adopt this IPU as well but in an even more brazen manner as they'll use a 12,000 tons Giga Press and cast the entire battery tray in one piece

So far Guangdong Hongtu is the only supplier with a 12,000 tons Giga Press running.

The same supplier showed one of these battery trays at the Shanghai Expo (weight; 51kg).

But what about Underbody Gigacastings?

Honda announced that they are planning to use Front and Rear Underbody Gigacastings on their future vehicles but not until 2028.

Xpeng should also be cast the battery tray of its future vehicles but instead using the 16,000 tons Giga Press recently commissioned at Guangdong Hongtu’s facility in China.

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This week’s gallery

New video of Xiaomi's Gigacasting shop, click here

Tesla activity at Gigafactory Texas by Joe Tegtmeyer

Xiaomi by Matthias Biegerl