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Waffer Technology held a grand inauguration ceremony for the Waffer R&D Center for Lightweight Materials and the Thixomolding Magnesium Alloy Application Center. The event also marked the introduction of the world's first and largest 7,000 ton dual barrel Thixomolding machine.

The center is a joint venture with Haitian Die Casting and the Magnesium Alloy Engineering Research Center of Chongqing University.

Five magnesium injection molding (Thixomolding) islands of different sizes, all made by Haitian were installed at the Waffer R&D center.

The Haitian HMG 7000 has a clamping force of 70,000 kN, is equipped with two Ф180mm screws, has an injection weight exceeding 38 kg, and is equipped with a millisecond-level closed-loop injection control system. The dual screw can inject the semi solid metal in both synchronous or asynchronous configurations.

Waffer said in a press release: “This advancement will drive the development and manufacturing of large, integrated structural components, such as vehicle body, frames and inner door panel brackets, significantly elevating the application potential of lightweight materials to unprecedented levels.”

This new 7,000 ton Magnesium Thixomolding machine is not the first, nor will be the last, of the “Giga sized” machines for semi solid forming of magnesium alloys. (Large magnesium Thixomolding machines included in The Gigacasting Database)

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Two important milestones were just celebrated in China’s growing EV sector.

On November 21, 2025, XPeng Motors celebrated a double achievement at its Guangzhou plant: the production of its 1 millionth vehicle and the first customer deliveries of the X9 Extended-Range EV. With this, XPeng became the first pure-EV brand in China to reach the one-million-vehicle production milestone.

Just one day earlier, on November 20, Xiaomi Auto rolled its 500,000th vehicle off the line at its Beijing Xiaomi Super Factory. Xiaomi achieved this in less than 20 months since the SU7 went on sale in March 2024 and with only two models (SU7 and YU7) in its lineup.

These feats underscore the extraordinary speed of both companies and their heavy reliance on high volume Gigacasting production to scale production efficiently.

XPeng Motors

• First 500,000 vehicles: 82 months

• Next 500,000 vehicles: 14 months

2025 has been a breakout year for XPeng. From January to October, the company delivered 355,209 vehicles, a staggering 190% year-on-year increase, far outpacing the industry. Overseas deliveries reached 34,712 units in the same period (+106.7% YoY), also thanks to two new assembly facilities outside of China.

XPeng was an early and aggressive adopter of Gigacastings. It uses 7,000 ton, 12,000 ton, and 16,000 ton die casting islands to produce both front and rear underbody structures for all of its high volume models and nearly all of its one million vehicles produced to date. Xpeng also retrofitted the P7 with Gigacastings during their latest restyling.

Xiaomi

Xiaomi needed only 20 months to hit its first 500,000 units, a pace that rivals every modern car manufacturing facility in the world. In the first three quarters of 2025, Xiaomi delivered over 260,000 vehicles, with monthly volumes exceeding 40,000 units in both September and October.

Like XPeng, Xiaomi has made Gigacasting a cornerstone of its manufacturing strategy. Both the SU7 and the newer YU7 feature a large rear underbody Gigacastings.

Xiaomi's Super Factory utilizes a self developed die casting aluminum alloy and die casting machines with a clamping force of 9,100 tons. Currently, four 9,100 ton machines are in production, and a fifth has already arrived at the factory, expected to be installed and put into production by the end of the year.

The expansion of the Gigacasting production capacity, or as Xiaomi calls it “Hypercasting”, is expected to serve the new vehicle which Xiaomi intends to present in 2026, likely a large SUV with an extended range EV powertrain, referred on Chinese social media as “YU9”. (Exclusive insight from The Gigacasting Database)

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Check out Volvo’s Megacasting production line powered by two Bühler Carat 840. Unfortunately the article is too long for the weekly newsletter but you can read the complete version on my website by clicking the link below.

The New Deepal L06 debutes with a Rear Underbody Gigacasting and a large Front Casting.

The new Deepal L06 (Changan's pemium EV brand) is the latest Chinese model to adopt ultra-large Gigacasting technology, featuring a Rear Underbody Gigacasting and a one piece front longitudinal lower beam.

State-owned automotive giant Changan is aggressively rolling out gigacasting across its EV portfolio, including the Deepal, Avatr, and Qiyuan (Nevo) brands.

According to the official presentation, this Front + Rear Gigacasting architecture delivers a 35% increase in torsional rigidity compared to traditional body structures.

Mingmei Magnesium Industry successfully completed the trial run of its new 1,650 ton magnesium Thixomolding machine following installation and commissioning. The machine produced its first batch of qualified samples.

Having previously installed several 850 ton magnesium Thixomolding machines supplied by Bole Machinery, Mingmei introduced this larger 1,650 ton machine in direct response to growing demand from the Chinese automotive industry for new applications and larger, more complex structural components.

Yizumi announced that on November 27, its LEAP 10000 die casting machine was successfully delivered to Qinhuangdao Xinyue Intelligent Equipment.

Qinhuangdao Xinyue will use the equipment to produce structural components for its end customers' electric vehicles, including integrated die-cast products such as the front and rear underbody and battery tray, with a maximum casting weight of 150 kg.

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