New Energy Vehicles Promote the Development of Automotive Lightweight Aluminum

Reported that in 2017, China completed production of 794,000 new energy vehicles, completed sales of 777,000 units, and production accounted for 2.7% of total vehicle output, ranking the world's first for three consecutive years. The personal auto consumption market is rapidly rising. The sales of new energy passenger vehicles accounted for nearly 75% of the total sales last year.

In 2020, China expects sales and production of new energy vehicles to reach 2 million vehicles per year. China Association of Automobile Manufacturers stated that it expects sales of new energy vehicles will increase by about 40% this year. New energy vehicles include hybrid and pure electric vehicles.

The Ministry of Finance of China stated in December last year that it would extend the preferential tax for purchase of new energy vehicles by 2020, which will promote the development of hybrid and electric vehicle manufacturers.

According to research information, in general, aluminum alloy parts companies will adopt the “material fee + processing fee” principle of product sales pricing and organize production according to customer orders. It is estimated that by 2020, the market size of automotive aluminum alloys is expected to be around 200 billion yuan. It should be noted that in the field of new energy vehicles, the use of aluminum alloys is also very extensive.

As an automotive lightweight material, aluminum alloy has the advantages of obvious weight-reducing effect, strong shock absorbing ability, easy recovery, and high assembly efficiency. Aluminum alloys for automobiles mainly include rolled materials, extruded materials, die-cast aluminum, and forging materials. According to the current use of various types of aluminum alloys in automobiles, the proportion is approximately: 77% of die-cast aluminum, 10% of rolled material, and extrusion. Pressing material 10%, forging material 3%, die castings accounted for the largest proportion.