What Happens in an Electric Car Factory?
With the shift from combustion to electric vehicles (EV), car manufacturers are making significant investments in EV facilities. The nature and scale of these facilities have changed dramatically.
Various occupations are affected by these changes, including mechanics, automotive service technicians and more. Several factors are contributing to these changes.
Battery Manufacturing
Thirty-six shoebox-sized battery modules containing a dozen lithium-ion cells are packed into seven-foot long electric-battery packs slung under the floor of each sport utility vehicle produced here. Each pack can travel 400 kilometers (250 miles) on a single charge and be recharged in less than 30 minutes.
The plant is a symbol of Europe’s forced shift to EVs as the industry races to meet an EU-wide ban on gasoline and diesel cars by 2035. But the facility in Billy-Berclau is just one of several coming online in the region, an ecosystem that elected representatives and industrialists have dubbed “Battery Valley.”
EV batteries have the potential to reduce climate change emissions. However, the environmental impact of these batteries depends on the source of electricity used to power them. And in some countries, EVs generate more emissions than they save electric car factory due to the energy used to manufacture them, transport them and recharge them.
To limit these impacts, EV makers should push to switch to low-carbon hydrogen and biofuels for processing lithium. They should also promote the use of renewables for electricity generation and work towards enabling recycling and reuse of batteries when they reach the end of their life. These steps will help to ensure that EV batteries live up to the hopes that consumers have in them and to make a significant contribution towards decarbonising mobility and society as a whole.
Body Assembly
As automakers convert ICE production plants and build new greenfield facilities, their factories will need to rework assembly processes. The most significant change will be the body, which will need to be made lighter as EVs replace traditional combustion engines with battery packs that are much heavier than engine blocks.
In addition to lighter materials, EVs typically have more complex and sturdier structural components. In place of a steel chassis, for example, many electric cars use an aluminum frame that has been designed to provide the same strength at lower weight. These frames are formed by pouring liquid metal into manufacturers’ molds at a foundry, a process called casting.
Once the parts have been cast, they must be machined to exact specifications. One common technique is CNC machining, which involves rotating and moving the workpiece against a cutting tool to cut away excess material. This type of machining is particularly well suited to the high-precision requirements of making electric car parts.
Unlike conventional ICE vehicles, electric cars will have no floor, which will allow workers to stand up instead of having to maneuver inside the vehicle in a crouched position. This will make the final assembly process more efficient and safer, but may require a major redesign of the factory layout.
EV maker Lucid Motors, for example, built its 590-acre plant in Casa Grande, Arizona to be a model for future manufacturing operations. It is divided into two factories that house the entire vehicle manufacturing operation. Known as Factory ZERO, the facility builds and paints luxury electric vehicles, including the Air sedan and SUV. GM is deploying similar production methods at its plant in Orion, Michigan. Its Electrification Manufacturing Center (AMP-1) produces the GMC HUMMER EV pickup and SUV, and its powertrain factory produces the motor, battery pack, inverter, and drive unit.
Transmission
In an electric car factory, a transmission is used to transfer mechanical power from the electric motor to the wheels. While most EVs use single-speed transmissions, there are other options available to increase efficiency and performance. These include continuously variable transmissions (CVT) and geared automatic transmissions. The market for these transmissions is growing due to factors such as increased demand for low-emission vehicles and government measures to encourage their usage. Major players in the market include Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd, Allison Transmission Inc., AVL List GmbH, BorgWarner Inc, Dana Limited, Eaton, JATCO Ltd, Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG, and ZF Friedrichshafen AG.
Almost every automotive manufacturer is working to convert its lineups to all-electric drive, but some are doing so much faster than others. Porsche, for instance, plans to sell a million of its first purely electric models by 2025, and VW is investing $42 billion in EVs through 2030.
The emergence of EVs will have profound implications for the auto industry, including how it designs and builds cars and where it hires workers. In addition, the shift from traditional internal-combustion engines to electric powertrains will change how consumers think about car buying chinese electric car and leasing options, as well as alter nomenclature so that, for example, even numbers will indicate all-electric cars while odd numbers signify combustion models.
Final Assembly
EVs are different from traditional vehicles in many ways, and making them requires an entirely new approach to production. Even if they’re built in factories that used to produce internal combustion engines, there will likely be major design and assembly process changes that can be costly.
Among the most challenging differences is constructing the large, bulky battery packs that power electric cars. These massive components are typically placed under the vehicle floor to lower the center of gravity, and they also function as structural members. Because they’re so heavy, most manufacturers prefer to make them as close to the vehicle assembly line as possible to reduce transport costs. This means that EV suppliers need to be located near the vehicle production sites, or they need to establish JVs with battery producers.
As a result, it’s important that companies like Durr offer flexible production solutions. For example, the company recently updated a Volkswagen plant in Zwickau, Germany to enable production of both ICE and EV vehicles. This required the development of a new solution for fast, precise assembly of side windows.
As EVs continue to grow in popularity, efficiency will be key to production. The good news is that they have fewer parts than conventional vehicles, and some assembly tasks can be automated. For example, some manufacturers are using robots to assemble body panels in a similar way that they’re already doing for doors and fenders.
