Technological Innovation through Body Analysis, Lightweighting and Increased Rigidity, and Multi-Material Processing

「• Research into future technologies from an LCA perspective and establishment of CO₂ emissions assessment criteria • Examination of applying parts manufacturing technologies using large integrated structures and development of specifications」

「• Research into future technologies from an LCA perspective and establishment of CO₂ emissions assessment criteria • Examination of applying parts manufacturing technologies using large integrated structures and development of specifications」

「In response to environmental requirements and the accelerating shift to EVs, the Group is working to bring the processing and joining technologies for new materials used in conventional body-structure parts into mass production at an early stage.」

「In addition, the installation of a demonstration line for motor cores in the EV-related business has been completed.」

「Progressed from development to the demonstration stage for EV-related parts, mainly in Japan.」

「During the fiscal year, the Group focused on the potential of aluminum materials from the perspectives of weight reduction and life-cycle assessment to reduce environmental impact, and began joint development research with AHRESTY CORPORATION, a die-casting manufacturer, with the aim of creating new value.」

「For motor cores, the Group is initiating the development of mass-production technologies using prototype dies and advancing plans to build an in-house production line for motor-core technology development and to demonstrate quality and mass producibility to customers.」

「We aim to participate in the competition to develop high-value-added luxury vehicles incorporating advanced technologies and to advance lightweighting technologies associated with the shift to EVs. We will further refine our existing technologies, including processing technologies for cold-formed ultra-high-tensile steel sheets, or ultra-high-tensile materials, and hot pressing, or hot stamping, by improving production efficiency and minimizing laser processing, as well as developing multi-material technologies and battery cases.」

「The Group is also advancing next-generation lightweight, high-rigidity body technologies with a view to the accelerating electrification of automobiles in Europe and China. Construction of the “G-TEKT Tokyo Lab” is under way as a global R&D hub in Japan, the United States, Germany and China, and it opened in April.」

「Against this backdrop, the Group has continued to advance technologies including ultra-high-tensile steel, hot-stamping technology and dissimilar-material joining technologies using nonferrous materials such as aluminum, with a view not only to gasoline-powered vehicles but also to electric vehicles (EVs), which require even greater weight reduction.」

「We will pursue these initiatives with a view to accelerating next-generation aluminum bodies in Europe.」

「In the technology field, we are improving the accuracy of an analysis model covering an entire vehicle body, with the aim of achieving both weight reduction and high rigidity. We developed a simulation model that shows a high correlation with actual-vehicle crash tests and have made highly reliable weight-reduction proposals, leading to increased parts orders.」

「Against this backdrop, the Group is working to give concrete form to innovation in 3 areas, technology, sales and human resources, in order to respond to changes in the business environment and achieve “sustainable growth and evolution.”」

「Against this backdrop, the Group has brought its German research facility fully online and is preparing to establish an advanced research center in Tokyo to consolidate leading-edge elemental technology development, including multi-material technologies for realizing lightweight, high-rigidity bodies.」

「Against this backdrop, the Group is pursuing initiatives to achieve sustainable growth by accurately addressing changes in the automotive industry, including production fluctuations, while advancing leading-edge elemental technology development in the R&D field, such as “multi-material processing technologies,” including aluminum, to realize simple, easy-to-manufacture and competitive bodies with low weight and high rigidity.」

「We will refine our body analysis technology covering an entire vehicle as a core technology enabling optimal proposals based on structural analysis of the entire body, and seek new orders by proposing further weight reduction and higher body rigidity. We will also create technological innovation and drive revenue growth by adding multi-material processing technology, including aluminum, as a new advanced technology to the press-forming and welding technologies we have developed to date.」