When you get into a modern car, more than 60% of the interior parts you touch, the dashboard you see, and even the components hidden inside the vehicle body may come from the same process – injection molding. From luxury cars worth millions to economy models priced at 100,000 yuan, injection molded parts are “conquering” every corner of automotive manufacturing at an astonishing speed. What industrial logic lies behind this? Let’s uncover the five truths behind the dominance of injection molded parts in the automotive industry.
一、The Hidden champion of the lightweight Revolution
Today, with increasingly strict energy conservation and emission reduction policies, “weight reduction” has become the top priority for automotive engineers. Data shows that for every 10% reduction in the weight of a car, fuel efficiency can be increased by 6% to 8%. Compared with traditional metal parts, injection molded parts can reduce the weight by 30% to 50%. Taking the Volkswagen MQB platform as an example, by adopting designs such as injection-molded instrument panel frames and injection-molded door inner panels, a single vehicle has successfully reduced its weight by 22 kilograms. Even more astonishingly, the BMW i3 electric vehicle even adopts a fully injection-molded roof structure, which ensures strength while weighing only one-third of a traditional steel roof.
二、The Ultimate Weapon for cost control
In the fierce market competition, the ability to control costs determines life and death. Injection molding technology has become a “money-saving magic tool” for automakers due to three major advantages: Firstly, the cost of mold development is only 1/5 of that of stamping molds; Secondly, the material utilization rate is as high as over 95%, far exceeding the 60% of machining. Most importantly, for domestic brands like Geely, by adopting the efficient injection molding technology of “one mold with multiple holes”, the cost of a single plastic snap can be controlled below 0.3 yuan. When a vehicle requires more than 300 such clips, the cost savings are considerable.
三、The Magic Key to Design Freedom
The integrated injection-molded center console of Tesla Model S and the seamless injection-molded grille of Mercedes-Benz EQC, these once impossible designs have now become a reality. Injection molding technology enables designers to achieve almost any complex shape with an accuracy of 0.1mm, which is something that metal stamping technology can never reach. Even better, through advanced technologies such as two-color injection molding and in-mold transfer printing, components with textures, logos, and even touch functions can be directly produced without adding additional processes. No wonder the Porsche designer said, “Injection molding has given us the courage to break the mold.”
四、Dark Technology for Security Performance
Many people mistakenly believe that plastic is less safe than metal, but modern injection molding technology has completely overturned this perception. Through processes such as glass fiber reinforcement and nano-modification, the impact resistance of injection molded parts has reached a level comparable to that of aluminum alloys. The injection-molded front module of the Volvo XC90 can absorb 70% of the collision energy at a speed of 15km/h. The latest injection-molded fuel tank of Toyota will not crack in an environment ranging from -40℃ to 120℃. What is more worth mentioning is that the injection molding process can precisely control the fracture guidance of parts, causing them to shatter in a predetermined manner upon collision, thereby better protecting the safety of the occupants.
五、The Key Driver of the Electric Transformation
The explosion of new energy vehicles has provided a larger stage for injection-molded parts. Compared with traditional fuel vehicles, electric vehicles have higher requirements for the insulation and corrosion resistance of their components. For instance, the insulating cover of BYD’s Blade Battery is injection-molded with special engineering plastics, which can ensure absolute safety under a high voltage of 1000V. The battery pack casing of NIO uses injection-molded PPE material, which reduces the weight by 40% compared to the metal casing while also offering better sealing performance. Industry insiders predict that by 2025, the usage of injection-molded parts per new energy vehicle will increase by 20% compared to the present, and the market size will exceed 80 billion yuan.
From the historical perspective of automotive manufacturing, the evolution of injection molding technology is a history of upgrading in the automotive industry. From the initial simple buttons and clips to today’s key components that undertake structural functions, injection molded parts have proven with their strength that they are not “cheap substitutes” for metals, but “strategic-level materials” that drive the progress of the automotive industry. The next time you touch the interior of your car, why not feel the great wisdom contained in this small plastic part – it is changing the future of human travel in the lightest way.
Post time: Jun-23-2025
