In his latest newsletter Luca Greco, who runs The Gigacasting Newsletter, reports that Volkswagen Group has placed an order for 16 new 9 000-ton die-casting machines to Bühler for their dedicated to front and rear underbody castings on its next-generation EV platform.
“According to public reports on LinkedIn (https://bit.ly/4wNc9LK) the allocation could look something like this; 8 machines for Volkswagen, 4 machines for Audi and 4 machines for Škoda.”
“This is a decisive step beyond the battery-frame strategy first shown at IAA Mobility 2025. At that time Volkswagen confirmed large aluminium battery frames for the Electric Urban Car Family – ID. Polo, Cupra Raval, Škoda Epiq and the production version of the ID. Cross.”
Volkswagen Group goes gigacasting! The Group has reportedly just ordered 16 of the 9 000-ton gigacasting machines from Bühler, likely to be divided among the VW, Audi and Skoda brands. Picture: The Gigacasting Newsletter
“Those frames already replace 123 parts, cut weight by roughly 10% and deliver a reported 15% cost reduction, all while using a three-plate die process. Front and rear underbody Gigacastings, however, remained undecided.”
“The new 9 000-ton order signals that the group has now committed to the larger structural castings for the subsequent high-volume platform.”
“Machine orders are only the first step. Installation, commissioning, tooling development and process stabilisation routinely takes months or years, and schedules do slip. China has already demonstrated how large the gap between announcements and reality can become: suppliers have ordered multi-machine packages only to see a fraction actually installed and running, while overall utilisation of the installed Gigacasting fleet remains low.”
“The same caution applies in Europe. Plans can be delayed, phased or even resized once the first pilot castings reveal true cycle times, scrap rates and integration costs with the rest of the body shop.”
“Volkswagen’s move is therefore best read as a firm strategic signal that demonstrates their commitment to the technology but it’s important to not place too much attention on the numbers. The installation of every single Bühler Carat machine could be delayed by several years depending on the competitiveness of their BEVs.”
“The Megacasting machines will ultimately support front and rear castings that eliminate dozens of stamped and welded parts, but the timeline from order to series production remains subject to the usual industrial realities.”
