Lightweighting of automobiles is urgent (Dr. Liao Jinxing)

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This articleauthorDr. Liu JinxingHonorary President of the Hong Kong Young Industrialists Council, and a columnist for the Hong Kong Economic Times“The Words of God“.

The automotive industry has undergone tremendous changes in recent years, and new energy vehicles have become an important topic. Last year, China’s auto sales exceeded 30 million for the first time, accounting for 30% of the world’s total, while new energy vehicle sales reached 9.49 million, accounting for 60% of the world’s new energy vehicles.

Although economic experts predict that this year will be a period of adjustment, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in the first five months of this year, China’s automobile exports reached 2.308 million units, a year-on-year increase of 31.3%, of which 519,000 new energy vehicles were exported, a year-on-year increase of 13.7%, showing a steady development trend. The International Energy Agency also predicts that the global demand for new energy vehicles will reach 45 million to 75 million units in 2030.

Automobile lightweighting has become an important trend in the development of the industry. It not only improves endurance and performance, but also meets the requirements of driving comfort, safety and economy. It is expected to open up broad market space under the stimulation of demand.

Major automobile manufacturers are accelerating the development and application of lightweight nonferrous casting technology to achieve international safety standards and improve endurance. If a new energy vehicle loses 100 kg in weight, it will increase its range by 10% to 11%, while reducing battery costs and daily losses by 20%. As for hybrid vehicles, their emissions can be reduced by 800 kg over their entire life cycle, saving 3 tons of gasoline.

Automobile lightweighting is mainly divided into three directions: structure, materials and technology. Structural lightweighting uses innovative and optimized design to reduce the number of parts; in terms of materials, new materials such as aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy, carbon fiber, super engineering plastics, etc. are used to maintain strength while reducing weight; in terms of technology, advanced technologies such as hydraulic forming, laser welding, integrated die casting, etc. are used to produce parts.

The automotive industry has proposed several solutions for lightweighting:

1. Magnesium alloy casting:Magnesium alloy is a lightweight material with high strength and rigidity. It can be manufactured into various shapes and high-precision parts through casting and extrusion processes. It has strong corrosion resistance and can be used in engine peripheral parts and gearbox housings.

2. Engineering plastics:The amount of plastic used in many cars has exceeded 120 kg per car. Plastics are widely used in interior parts, exterior parts and structural parts. The biggest advantage is to reduce the weight of the car body. The specific gravity of fiber-reinforced composite materials will not exceed 2.0, making them the preferred material for lightweighting.

3. Carbon fiber:Carbon fiber is a high-strength, high-modulus fiber material with a carbon content of more than 95%. Due to its high cost and difficult processing technology, it is currently only used in some super luxury models.

In 2020, the State Council announced the “New Energy Vehicle Industry Development Plan (2021-2035)”, which mentioned that it is required to strengthen the layout of new materials technology and support the research and development of silicon carbide power devices, lightweight materials, low-cost rare earth permanent magnet materials, etc. to support the development of new energy vehicles. In 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the “Implementation Plan for the Pilot Program of Extended Producer Responsibility for Automotive Products”, emphasizing the need to strengthen the research and development of green products, increase the production proportion of low-fuel consumption, low-emission and new energy vehicles, and accelerate the research and application of lightweight technologies for complete vehicles and parts. Lightweighting is a multidisciplinary and multi-technical intersection, and it is definitely a hugely challenging task.