Rheinmetall’s Castings Unit Secures Order for Hybrid Vehicle Engine Blocks

(IN BRIEF) Rheinmetall’s Materials and Trade division has secured an order from Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) to produce over 500,000 engine blocks for a hybrid vehicle worth a figure in the mid-double-digit million-euro range. The Castings business unit of the division will produce the engine blocks in China using gravity casting. Production is set to begin in 2024, and the unit will utilize existing capacity to carry out the order. The order highlights Rheinmetall’s capabilities as a partner to the global automotive industry, and each new order represents a milestone in the Group’s path towards tackling the challenges of e-mobility.

(PRESS RELEASE) DUSSELDORF, 13-Apr-2023 — /EuropaWire/ —The Materials and Trade division of the tech enterprise Rheinmetall has booked a new order to produce engine blocks for a hybrid vehicle. The order, worth a figure in the mid-double-digit million-euro range, encompasses over 500,000 units.

To win the order, the division’s Castings business unit had to overcome rival bids from global competitors. Production is set to begin in China in 2024, where the order will result in optimum utilization of existing capacity. The parts will be produced using gravity casting. The customer is Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), China’s largest maker of automobiles, motorcycles and car parts. SAIC covers the complete spectrum of drive technology, including vehicles with internal combustion engines, hybrid models and vehicles that are powered entirely by electricity.

A leading producer of lightweight aluminium parts, the Castings business unit has production facilities in both Germany and China. Its product portfolio encompasses engine blocks and cylinder heads, structural parts, transmission and chassis components, as well as special e-mobility solutions.

This important order underscores once again Rheinmetall’s expertise as a highly competent partner of the global automotive industry, not only for modern e-vehicles, but also for hybrid systems that result in lower petrol consumption especially when traveling short distances, leading in turn to lower CO2 emissions and thus benefitting the environment.

Rheinmetall is now booking a growing number of orders for components and systems for modern, environmentally friendly mobility. Each new order marks another milestone on the Group’s path to successfully tackling the challenges facing the industry as it moves to complete e-mobility.

The Castings business unit is a globe-spanning joint venture of Rheinmetall and HUAYU Automotive Systems Co. Ltd. (HASCO), a subsidiary of China’s SAIC group. Castings consists of two large companies: KS HUAYU AluTech GmbH in Europe and HASCO KSPG Nonferrous Components (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (KPSNC) in China. Rheinmetall and SAIC each hold a 50 percent stake in the joint venture.

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SOURCE: Rheinmetall