Automotive aluminum alloy precision die casting industry development trend, demand market in 2024

The manufacturing process of aluminum alloy in the automotive field mainly includes stamping, die casting and extrusion molding, while die casting is the main production method of aluminum alloy parts, and the dosage of aluminum alloy die casting in the automotive field reaches about 80%, while extruded parts and calendered parts account for about 10% each. Under the requirements of environmental protection and energy saving, automobile manufacturing is constantly moving towards light weight, which promotes the wide application of aluminum and magnesium alloy with low density and high strength in automobile parts.

Die casting industry is moving towards the direction of precision, customization, high-tech and green environmental protection, follow the pace of the new energy automobile market, with technological innovation as the core, and constantly improve their competitive advantage in the industry chain!

Automotive aluminum alloy precision die casting industry four major development trends

A, precision and high performance: with the rapid development of the automotive industry, especially new energy vehicles on the die casting quality, precision and performance requirements are increasing, die casting not only to meet the complex internal structure design needs, but also to ensure the strength, stiffness, heat resistance and other properties at the same time, the pursuit of finer surface treatment and appearance quality.

B, customization and R & D production capacity to strengthen: downstream automobile manufacturers and parts suppliers on die casting of personalized need to enhance the requirements of die casting enterprises with strong R & D strength and rich experience in production, according to the specific requirements of the rapid design and manufacture of customized products.

C, capital and technology-intensive: die casting industry because of its customization and high precision characteristics, the technology and equipment investment requirements are high. Enterprises need to constantly introduce cash die-casting equipment, precision machining equipment, R & D testing together, and train professional R & D team to adapt to changing market demand and technological innovation.

D, in China's double ''double carbon" policy drive, new energy vehicle production and sales showed explosive growth, which to aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy and other lightweight materials in the automotive parts manufacturing application put forward more demand. New energy automobile body and parts tend to use die-casting technology manufacturing, in order to reduce the weight, improve energy efficiency, the die-casting industry has created a huge market space and development opportunities.

Ministry of industry and information technology "energy saving and new energy technology roadmap" put forward, our country in 2025/2030 single car aluminum consumption target for 250kg/vehicle and 350kg/vehicle.

Domestic and foreign automotive industry aluminum alloy die casting application scope in accordance with the use of functional classification, has been used for structural parts, force parts, safety parts and decorative parts, etc., mainly including the following aspects: (1) power transmission system: cylinder block, cylinder block cover, cylinder head cover, crankcase, cylinder head cover cover, oil pan, generator shell, engine gear room, engine all kinds of bracket, etc., transmission shell, gearbox bracket, etc.; (2) Steering system: chain cover, rack housing and turbo housing; (3) chassis assembly: suspension bracket and cross member; (4) body: wheel, skeleton and decorative products; (5) other: shock absorber lower end cover, compressor bracket, clutch pedal and brake pedal and so on. Aluminum alloy die casting related products have been widely used in the automotive industry.

At present, the die-casting industry widely used aluminum alloy high-pressure die-casting process is easy to process complex molding parts and components, can effectively improve production efficiency, reduce costs, favored by all walks of life. Various types of aluminum alloy process in the automobile on the use of the proportion of about: casting 77%, rolling 10%, extrusion 10%, forging 3%, casting process is the most important car aluminum alloy processing technology.

Although China's automobile industry started late compared to the development of the automobile industry in developed countries, the fast-growing domestic market and relatively low cost of production factors have attracted the global automobile industry resources to cluster in China. High-end automobile brands have set up manufacturing bases in China, significantly improving the technical strength and manufacturing capacity of China's automobile and parts industry.

According to the statistics of China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), China's automobile production increased from 13.7910 million units in 2009 to 27.021 million units in 2022, with a compound annual growth rate of 5.31%; during the same period, China's automobile sales increased from 13.6448 million units to 26.8640 million units, with a compound annual growth rate of 5.35%. In 2021, China's automobile production and sales amounted to 26.082 million units and 26.2750 million units respectively, with year-on-year growth of 3.40% and 3.80%, ending the situation of three consecutive years of decline since 2018; in 2022, China's automobile production and sales amounted to 27.021 million units and 26.8640 million units respectively, with year-on-year growth of 3.40% and 2.10%, and the production and sales volume has ranked first in the world for 14 consecutive years. In 2023, China's automobile production and sales were 30.161 million units and 30.094 million units respectively, with year-on-year growth of 11.6% and 12%, a higher growth rate, showing a rapid growth trend.

Automotive aluminum alloy die casting industry future prospects are better, with the traditional fuel vehicles and new energy vehicles market scale continues to expand, automotive aluminum alloy parts and components market there is more room for development.

(1) Customer barriers

The world's major vehicle manufacturers or auto parts suppliers in the selection of upstream parts suppliers in the process, have a set of strict quality system certification standards. Usually, auto parts suppliers through the relevant parts quality management system certification audit before becoming a vehicle factory or auto parts supplier candidate suppliers; vehicle factory or auto parts supplier in accordance with their respective supplier selection criteria, the upstream suppliers of the various production management aspects of the audit; Finally, in the relevant supporting parts for mass production before the need to fulfill a strict product quality Finally, before the mass production of the relevant supporting parts, it is necessary to fulfill the strict product quality advance planning (APQP) and production parts approval program (PPAP), and after repeated trial installation and verification. Once the two sides established a cooperative relationship, vehicle manufacturers or auto parts suppliers usually do not easily change their supporting parts suppliers, the industry's strict downstream certification standards for auto parts industry new competitors to form a high barrier to entry.

(2) Technical barriers

Automotive field aluminum alloy precision die casting complex shape, material properties and high precision requirements, the production process of parts design, mold manufacturing, die casting, machining, process optimization and other aspects of the long-term accumulation of technology is required. Therefore, the industry die-casting enterprises need to have strong material development and preparation technology, die-casting technology, and even product program design, mold design and manufacturing capacity, in order to meet the vehicle manufacturers and first-class automotive parts suppliers on the product quality requirements, so as to occupy a favorable advantage in the fierce market competition.

(3) capital barriers

Die casting industry capital investment, the need for continuous investment in research and development, in order to consolidate product quality, to ensure the advanced technology. Melting equipment, die casting equipment, mold production equipment, machining equipment and precision testing equipment and other acquisition costs are generally higher, especially the production of high-end precision parts, in order to ensure that the product accuracy, strength, processability and other technical indicators to reach a high level, parts manufacturers need high-end processing equipment, requires more capital investment, the industry's financial strength put forward high requirements.