Before reading this week’s newsletter, don't miss out on this week's featured interview with Fondarex about their new solutions for the future of Gigacastings

Honda Announced that Production has Commenced at its New Dedicated Electric Vehicle Factory in China

The facility in Wuhan, Hubei province, will spearhead the manufacturing of the brand-new Lingxi L along with introducing the Ye EV brand. The factory has an annual production capacity of around 120,000 units.

This new plant is operated by the joint venture Dongfeng Honda Motor Co, one of Honda's strategic joint ventures in China.

The "Ye" series, Honda's bespoke electric brand for China, made its debut at the Beijing Auto Show in mid-April. The first set of "Ye" models, including the "Ye S7" and "Ye P7," are slated for release by the end of 2024, with additional models like the "Ye GT CONCEPT" following in 2025. These models will benefit from Honda's adoption of integrated die-casting technology and the Intelligent Power Unit (IPU) platform.

This technology, particularly utilized in the all-aluminum battery cases of the "Ye S7" and "Ye P7" using a 12,000 ton die casting machine, is currently exclusive to Guangdong Hongtu.

The 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 piece. Honda estimates this platform will reduce costs by 40% at the pack level and reduce the number of parts from 60 to just 5.

Tesla Gigafactory Texas Gigacasting Storage System

Tesla found a solution for the storage of Gigacastings. As the production of Cybertruck front and rear castings ramped up to 1,200/week each, plus the ones for the Model Y, Tesla was running out of space outside the Gigafoundry section of the factory.

The new storage lot separates the castings based on type (front or rear), model (Model Y or Cybertruck) and whether they have been trimmed already or not.

Also as Joe Tegtmeyer noted in the video, the team will probably empty the existing stock on the old area and rework the old storage system.

Giga Texas, located in Austin, Travis county, has Tesla’s largest GigaFoundry globally and it’s equipped with Idra 6,000 and 9,000 t die casting machines.

• MY = Model Y • CT = Cybertruck • RUB = Rear UnderBody casting • FUB = Front UnderBody casting.

World’s First 16,000 t Giga Press Entered Mass Production

The Chinese EV maker Xpeng, presented its new P7+ to the world at the Paris Motor Show 2024.

Xpeng’s has been using front and rear gigacastings since 2022 when it introduced this new architecture on their best selling vehicle, the G6 suv. Since then Xpeng operated 7,000 t Giga Presses and signed important collaboration deals with the T1 supplier Guangdong Hongtu for the research and development of larger die casting machines, as well as the supply of Gigacastings.

In the beginning of this year, Xpeng delivered their new minivan, the X9, which utilizes a 12,000 t Giga Press operated by Guangdong Hongtu. The same supplier is now producing Gigacastings for the P7+ but this time utilizing the world’s largest die casting machine, a 16,000 t Giga Press which was delivered earlier this year. There has been a lot of speculation about what it was going to produce but there you have it, front and rear castings for the P7+.

This Week’s Gallery

Tesla Gigafactory Texas by Joe Tegtmeyer

Tesla Giga Berlin gets the first preliminary approval for the expansion of the 2nd phase of the factory

Asiaway Mexico plant construction