NIO
Canvas Category OEM : Automotive
NIO is a pioneer and a leading company in the premium smart electric vehicle market. Founded in November 2014, NIO’s mission is to shape a joyful lifestyle. NIO aims to build a community starting with smart electric vehicles to share joy and grow together with users. NIO designs, develops, jointly manufactures and sells premium smart electric vehicles, driving innovations in next-generation technologies in autonomous driving, digital technologies, electric powertrains and batteries. NIO differentiates itself through its continuous technological breakthroughs and innovations, such as its industry-leading battery swapping technologies, Battery as a Service, or BaaS, as well as its proprietary autonomous driving technologies and Autonomous Driving as a Service, or ADaaS.
Assembly Line
Monolith and NIO Europe start first ever collaboration on AI-driven anomaly detection for EV batteries
Monolith, artificial intelligence (AI) software provider to the world’s most innovative engineering teams, has been chosen by NIO, a pioneer and leading company in the premium smart electric vehicle market, to collaborate on AI-driven anomaly detection in the company’s electric vehicle batteries.
NIO’s battery swap technology presents a unique opportunity to discover new insights into real-world, daily usage of batteries. It will use Monolith’s Anomaly Detector AI software to monitor performance from data generated in the field. These learnings will build a basis for comparing test-bench results and will be integrated into further verification activities. With Anomaly Detector, NIO and Monolith engineers can recognise abnormalities in cross-channel results at an unprecedented rate based on complex system relationships.
China EV maker Nio secures $2.2bn investment from Abu Dhabi
Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio will receive a $2.2 billion strategic investment from a fund backed by Abu Dhabi, as it bolsters finances in the face of growing competition. CYVN Holdings will acquire 294 million newly issued shares in Nio for $7.50 each by the end of the month. The purchase will increase CYVN’s ownership in Nio to around 20.1%.
Short Market Overview Gigacasting and Giga Presses in the Automotive Industry
How much does a Giga Press cost in China?
- 6,000 ton ~ € 6,000,000 (DCC 6000 Impress Plus L.K.)
- 9,000 ton ~ €10,500,000 (estimation)
- 12,000 ton > €14,500,000
- 16,000 ton ~ € 20,000,000 (estimation)
- The die casting peripheral equipment costs are about € 8 mio.
- The logistic costs of a Giga Press from IDRA are approx. 10-15% of the value of the machine.
- The tooling costs are one of the largest contributors to the part price. Gigacastings rely on AlSi7CuMg for Tesla or AlSi7MnMg for OEMs like Volkswagen or Volvo.
- At the same time, the gross win rate of large die casting machines is 10-15 points higher than that of ordinary die casting machines, and the net win rate is between 15-20%.
Gigacasting: The hottest trend in car manufacturing
Gigacasting is all the rage in automotive manufacturing circles. And while Tesla has mainstreamed the term — involving enormous, high-pressure aluminum die casting machines that punch out vehicle chassis and bodies-in-white — the technology has largely caught on in mainland China. Now other automakers, including Toyota, are eyeing the process.
These massive gigacastings (also known as megacastings) carry huge initial startup costs, may have distortion issues in the metal, alter collision-repair capabilities, and require extensive end-of-line inspection scanning. And that is only after ordering a custom-built gargantuan piece of equipment, moving it into place, and figuring out how to efficiently work the temperamental processes. The cost-benefit analysis of gigacasting should be based on achieving a good-enough first-pass yield rate and maintaining a sufficient, yet not excessive, number of orders for the same part. When comparing gigacasting to conventional steel stamping or aluminum-stitching, S&P Global Mobility nonetheless assesses the unit price for a single-piece, gigacasted aluminum rear floor to be valid.
OEMs are looking towards gigacasting not as a component piece, but as a change to how their entire world functions. The reconfiguration of the dance played behind factory walls will forever change economies within automotive. Whether corner castings or single piece, whether gigacast or gigapress, a change to how vehicles come together is upon the industry. Nodal construction will replace linear, bottlenecks will arise and dissolve, and something altogether new will be born.
Highly automated manufacturing environment to enhance the customer’s production efficiency
Comau has implemented a high-performance turnkey solution to automate manufacturing of NIO’s next-generation electric drive systems. The multi-faceted project also ensures fast and reliable co-line production for the electric vehicle manufacturer’s third-gen induction and permanent magnet motors, both of which are integral parts of its proprietary electric drive systems (EDS). The comprehensive solution includes primary lines such as e-motor assembly lines, gearbox manufacturing and inverter assembly lines, as well as EOL (End of Line) testing processes. It is designed to support a large-scale annual production capacity of 1 million units, to be used within NIO’s electric sedans, coupes and SUVs, as well as select models of its sub-brand ALPS.