SHANGHAI, Sep 28 (SMM) - 

At the China Automotive New Materials Summit Forum in the fourth quarter of 2022 - Automotive Large Integrated Die-casting Industry Development Forum, Wang Dalu, Sales Director of Yunnan Yunlv Zexin Aluminum Industry Co., Ltd, provided a detailed analysis of the impact of high-end cast aluminium billet on the automotive material supply. His speech focused on the current development trend of the automotive industry, the application of new automotive materials and the solutions to better automotive lightweight automobiles.

Domestic and overseas demand brings more opportunities for lightweight vehicles 

In recent years, the commercial vehicles are more subject to policies, regulations and market demand. With rising market demand and change in policies, it becomes necessary to replace traditional steel wheels with lightweight aluminium wheels.

After the goal of attaining carbon peak and carbon neutrality is set, energy conservation and emission reduction become the main guiding principles in the development of the automobile industry. The national policies and regulations as well as the domestic and overseas demand for automotive industry upgrading brought about opportunities for the rapid development of lightweight vehicles. At the same time, the lightweight cast aluminium wheel also becomes indispensable in the development of automobile industry because of its far-reaching impact. 

At present, with the increasingly advanced technology and equipment to produce cast aluminium wheels, the cast aluminium wheels are applied in more various products and gradually play an more important role in global automotive market.

Comparison of cast aluminium wheels and steel wheels

Currently, steel wheels used in commercial vehicles are gradually replaced by cast aluminium wheels because the latter is lighter, stronger, safer, more fuel-efficient, tire-saving, and energy-saving.

First of all, lightweight cast aluminium wheels can improve the performance of the vehicle as whole and increase operating income in a more efficient way. Secondly, lightweight cast aluminium wheels can reduce energy consumption, which not only save fuel efficiency and cost but also increase driving range, so as to achieve the purpose of carbon emissions cut and environmental protection. Third, the greater strength and resilience of aluminium than steel increases the safety of vehicles.

In addition, cast aluminium wheels are better at heat dissipation with solid tyres and immune to fire caused by friction, which also improves its safety. Moreover, the cast aluminium wheels are easy to control and maintain with their excellent roundness and dynamic balance, all of which contribute to comfortable driving experience.

Most importantly, the cast aluminium wheels have high recycling value, which means that they can be recycled and reused to achieve environmental protection.

The practical application of cast aluminium wheels will largely improve the performance of the whole vehicle, in terms of weight reduction, emission cuts, reliability, carrying capacity and cost efficiency.

Therefore, in the era of high oil prices, the promotion of lightweight cast aluminium wheels follows the irreversible trend of advocating environmental-friendly products and is in line with the national carbon and emission reduction policy. In addition, the cast aluminium wheels are also critical products in the transformation and upgrading of technology. It should be pointed out that using cast aluminium wheels also bring tremendous economic benefits. Last but not least, the lightweight cast aluminium wheels are more valued in the overseas market, so they play an important role in exported vehicles. In particular, they are among the top considerations among high-end consumers when purchasing high-end car models.