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AITO, Seres and Baowu Magnesium Unveil New Magnesium Rear Gigacasting

At the SERES Intelligent Safety Conference during the Shanghai Auto Show on April 23, SERES debuted the world’s largest magnesium alloy rear Gigacasting designed for mass production.

Developed in collaboration with Chongqing University, Baowu Magnesium, and Beijing University of Science and Technology, this magnesium underbody component transitions magnesium alloy rear underbodies from laboratory prototypes to full-scale vehicle integration and mass production.

Compared to traditional aluminum alloy solutions, this casting achieves a 21.8% weight reduction.

Gong Jianyong, Vice President of AITO, highlighted that AITO models currently incorporate over 10 magnesium alloy parts, totaling 20 kg per vehicle, positioning SERES at the forefront of the Chinese automotive industry.

While the part is now in production, vehicles equipped with these magnesium components are yet to reach customers. This will be incorporated into the AITO M9 luxury SUV, possibly by the end of the year.

AITO was originally a join venture between Huawei and SERES, but last summer SERES acquired all the shares and patents.

Tesla’s Robotaxi Gigacastings Analysis

In the past couple of weeks two new Gigacastings never seen before have been spotted outside Tesla’s factory in Austin, Texas. One new rear underbody (RUB) and more recently one new front underbody (FUB). I believe these castings are for Tesla’s robotaxi dedicated vehicle, the Cybercab.

Rear Gigacasting

1) No wheel arches

The casting is streamlined to minimize material use, with one key difference from other Tesla castings: the exclusion of the innermost flat wheel arch section.

Integrating wheel arch covers into the rear casting is the most cost effective approach, as it reduces the number of parts and manufacturing time and steps. However, this design presents challenges.

The wheel arches, being large, flat surfaces, must be thin to save weight, which makes them prone to deformation and complicates the flow of the material and cooling.

Excluding the wheel arches from the casting simplifies the process, logistics and reduces weight by replacing a casting wall thicker than 2mm with a thinner stamped sheet. However, this introduces additional manufacturing steps and components.

Alternatively, the wheel arch could be incorporated into an inner side panel or another component to balance efficiency and design requirements.

2) Weight Estimate 

Similar designs in Chinese vehicles, which exclude wheel arches, typically result in castings weighing around 55 kg.

Given the Cybercab’s smaller size and reduced flat surface area, its casting could weigh well below 50 kg, a lot lighter than the Model Y’s RUB casting, which is approximately 60 kg.

3) Die design

The side of the casting appears to be almost completely flat or at least for the vast majority of its length and surely drastically flatter than compare to the Model Ys.

This, if confirmed in the future by more higher resolution images, suggests that the die design doesn’t require the typical lateral slide cores seen on every underbody Gigacasting die design.

This could significantly reduce costs and complexity while maintaining structural integrity, aligning with the Cybercab’s optimized design goals.

4) Impact on Logistics

The compact design excluding wheel arches, enables at least 10 castings to be stored per rack, doubling the capacity of the Model Y RUB casting (5 per rack) and exceeding the Cybertruck RUB (4 per rack), despite all racks having nearly identical volumes.

This is significant because storage management has been a challenge at Tesla’s factories, where building inventory is essential due to the lengthy die swapping process and subsequent downtime for the massive casting machines.

Front Gigacasting

The front underbody (FUB) Gigacastings closely resemble the Cybertruck’s castings in shape, featuring similar ribs and progressive crash-absorption structures, though they use a significantly different ingate system.

However, they are noticeably smaller, appearing more compact than the Cybertruck’s castings when observed alongside workers on the factory floor.

Why do the front castings include wheel arches?

The shock towers are a critical component of the front casting design.

Not integrating them into the main casting, compared to the RUB, would require adding way too many parts in subsequent manufacturing steps, undermining the efficiency of using a Gigacasting for the front.

That said, the large wheel arches in the front casting certainly pose challenges, as evidenced by the extensive rib structures used to enhance the structural integrity of these large, flat areas.

Why am I confident these castings are for the Cybercab?

1) Timeline

Tesla’s VP of Engineering, Lars Moravy, stated that Cybercab pilot production would begin in summer 2025.

The current production of these castings aligns closely with this timeline, as the manufacturing of these components typically precedes vehicle pilot production by several months. This schedule mirrors the Cybertruck’s production timeline in 2023.

2) Size

The front castings, while similar in design, are too small to be for the Cybertruck.

Similarly, the rear castings cannot be for other models like the Model Y, as their design changes are too significant to be so close with the Model Y’s recent major refresh in January.

3) Could they be for the new affordable models?

According to Lars Moravy, Tesla’s new affordable models will closely resemble the design of existing vehicles, likely using castings similar or identical to those of the Model Y.

However, the castings in question are labeled “RTTX”, possibly indicating “RoboTaxi Texas,” consistent with Tesla’s naming conventions.

While I know it’s unusual to label the vehicle “Robotaxi” (the service) rather than “Cybercab” (the vehicle), this strongly suggests these castings are for the Cybercab.

Yizumi and Tianzheng Mould Sign Strategic Cooperation Agreement

Yizumi and Tianzheng Mould signed a strategic partnership to combine their expertise in metal die-casting, focusing on integrated solutions from mold design to equipment manufacturing.

Tianzheng Mould will purchase Yizumi’s aluminum alloy 1,250 to 4,500t die casting machines as well as 2,000t and 3,200t magnesium Thixomolding machines and collaborate on advanced process development.

Targeting new energy vehicle components and lightweight materials, the partnership leverages Yizumi’s ultra-large die-casting technology and Tianzheng’s precision mold design to enhance the efficiency and precision of complex parts.

Yizumi will also equip Tianzheng’s new die-casting plant with a full digital solution, including intelligent die-casting islands, MES systems, and energy optimization, to create a cutting-edge smart factory.

Financial Reports

Tuopu Group

In 2024, automotive components supplier, Ningbo Tuopu Group achieved revenue of 26.6 billion yuan ($3.66 billion), a year-on-year increase of 35.02%; net profit reached 3 billion yuan ($412.7 million), a year-on-year increase of 39.52%.

The company used to be a Gigacasting supplier for the Human Horizon HiPhi X, but the company went bankrupt after only a few thousand deliveries.

In their financial report, Tuopu officially confirmed they are working with Rivian and could be the supplier for Rivian’s R2 RUB Megacastings, manufactured in Mexico and assembled in the United States.

Yizumi

In 2024, large die casting machine maker, Yizumi achieved revenue of 5.06 billion yuan ($696.29 million), a year-on-year increase of 23.61%; net profit reached 608 million yuan ($83.6 million), a year-on-year increase of 27.42%.

The injection molding machine business led performance, with sales revenue of 3,555 billion yuan ($489 million), a year-on-year increase of 28.8%, accounting for 70.22% of total sales.

The sales revenue of die-casting machines reached 893 million yuan ($122.2 million), accounting for 17.65% of the company's total sales, an increase of 14.53% year-on-year.

Guangdong Hongtu

In 2024, Gigacasting specialist, Guangdong Hongtu achieved revenue of 8.05 billion yuan ($1.11 billion), a year-on-year increase of 5.76%; net profit was 415 million yuan ($57.1 million), a year-on-year decrease of 1.79%.

The new energy vehicle products segment excelled, generating 2.4 billion yuan ($330.2 million) in sales revenue, a year-on-year increase of 9.42 percentage points, accounting for over 30% of total sales.

The total sales revenue of the die-casting business reached 6 billion yuan ($).

Wencan

In 2024, Gigacasting supplier, Wencan reported revenue of 6.25 billion yuan ($859.5 million), a year-on-year increase of 22.5%; net profit reached 115 million yuan ($15.8 million), a year-on-year increase of 128.2%.

The body structural parts business, including Gigacastings, achieved 1.59 billion yuan ($219.2 million) in revenue, a year-on-year increase of 128.28%, driven by strong demand from new energy vehicle customers.

Baowu Magnesium

In 2024, magnesium alloy specialist, Baowu Magnesium achieved revenue of 8.98 billion yuan ($1.23 billion), a year-on-year increase of 17.39%; net profit was 160 million yuan ($22.5 million), a year-on-year decrease of 47.91%.

The magnesium materials and die-casting products segment faced challenges, with performance impacted by declining magnesium prices and lower gross profit margins.

Quick News

IDRA Group

IDRA Group, just a couple of months from delivering a new 9,000t Giga Press to Tesla, they already have two new 9,000t machines ready, watch the video here.

Avatr

The Avatr 06 deliveries have begun. AVATR is a joint venture between Huawei, Changan and the world's largest lithium ion battery maker, CATL.

Thanks to the one piece rear Gigacasting, torsional stiffness is increased by 25% and the vehicle can withstand a rear collision at 80 km/h (50 mph) ensuring the safety of its passengers.

Click here for more about the Avatr 06

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