On December 2, 2025, Chinese automotive equipment manufacturer Hubei Hantek Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. unveiled the world’s first one-piece, low-pressure-cast, all-aluminium large-vehicle frame at the 2025 Yangtze River Industry and Technology Innovation Conference in Hubei. The structure is now installed on the BYD Yangwang U8L, a luxury electric SUV launched in September 2025.
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A frame that breaks engineering limits
The aluminium frame covers 4.2 square meters and features a wall-thickness range from 4 mm to 50 mm, an extreme 12:1 ratio never achieved in previous projects. Hantek emphasised that no prior global project has successfully cast a frame with such extreme thickness variation, underscoring the difficulty of controlling molten-metal behaviour across ultra-thin and ultra-thick sections.
Traditional aluminium frames use many welded or riveted parts. These joints create weak points. They also increase manufacturing costs. Hantek’s single-piece design removes all joints. This boosts rigidity. It reduces fatigue failures. It improves crash performance.
How Hantek solved the toughest challenges
The company spent years refining low-pressure casting for oversized thin-walled components. The team had to control metal filling speeds, ensure uniform flow, and achieve gradient solidification across wide thickness ranges. The process allows the frame to maintain high strength, toughness, and fatigue resistance, supported by Hantek’s proprietary aluminium alloy and heat-treatment cycle.
Officials from the Yangtze River Industry Group said the innovation represents a significant milestone in China’s manufacturing of large, complex aluminium structural components. They added that the breakthrough could reshape how future electric SUVs and pickups are engineered.
A luxury SUV built to showcase structural innovation
The Yangwang U8L, priced at 1.28 million yuan (USD 181,200), runs on BYD’s e4 platform with a 2.0T engine, four motors and a 55.53 kWh Blade battery. It produces 880 kW (1,180 hp), achieves a 200 km EV range, and offers 13 drive modes. Its cabin includes executive seating, multiple screens, 32 speakers, 14 airbags, and noise levels capped at 64.6 dB at 120 km/h.
Hantek currently collaborates with BYD, Nio, FAW Hongqi, and Dongfeng Lantu; this innovation could increase its impact internationally. The growing level of competition in the industry for low-pressure casting is evidenced by its use in the production of large body modules, subframes and EV battery trays.
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