Toyota adopts Tesla-style gigacasting for new China factory

Toyota's China sales are down 19% after eight months this year, and its next move borrows a Tesla idea. Toyota gigacasting, which uses giant presses to mould whole chassis sections in one piece, will debut at a US$2 billion Lexus factory in Shanghai due to start production in 2027.

The chief technology officer of Toyota, Hiroki Nakajima, was asked by an interviewer in Brussels if the company had been purchasing the machines from a local supplier. “Every time the starting point is in-house," said Nakajima.

Toyota is testing the technology in Japan and refused to reveal any information about the potential suppliers. Automakers normally collaborate with die-cast machine experts like Idra Group in Italy or Haitian in China.

Toyota has been developing its own equipment since 2023, when it showed a prototype press producing a third of a car body in around three minutes.

The technology was invented by Tesla, and BYD and Xiaomi employ it as well. With one pressing, many components that were previously assembled with welding have been substituted.

The technology is costly and less flexible when dealing with various models. Crashes are more expensive since new parts are larger.

Domestic firms dominate the segment of EVs in the largest automobile market. The slowdown in buying has happened due to the crisis in the real estate sector. Both Toyota and its European competitors experience the same problem.

The plant in Shanghai is the first fully owned facility of Lexus in China. As Nakajima said, it is "a great opportunity to reform the production system."