Recently, under the leadership of Academician Fusheng Pan, Chongqing University, together with Seres, Baowu Magnesium, and the University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB), successfully developed world’s largest integrated die-cast magnesium alloy rear car body designed for mass production. On April 12, Academician Fusheng Pan and Professor Bin Jiang of CCMg attended the “Global Debut and Trial Production Roll-Off Ceremony of the Seres Super Large Integrated Die-Cast Magnesium Alloy Rear Car Body and White Body” held at the Seres Super Factory, Chongqing, China. On April 23, at the Seres Intelligent Safety Release Conference during Auto Shanghai 2025, the world’s largest Mass production-oriented magnesium alloy integrated die-cast rear car body was officially launched.
On April 23，at the Shanghai release, Seres introduced a pioneering scenario-defined safety system, covering four key domains: “life protection”, “body protection”, “health care”, and “privacy protecti”, setting a new benchmark for intelligent safety in the automotive industry. During the event, Seres President Liyang He announced the company’s latest achievement—the world’s largest integrated die-cast magnesium alloy rear car body for mass production.
This breakthrough, jointly developed with Chongqing University, Baowu Magnesium, and USTB, had already been unveiled at the April 12 roll-off ceremony. Attendees included Academician Fusheng Pan, Jianyong Gong, Vice President of Seres Group AITO Wenjie BG, Faping Wen, Vice Chairman of Baowu Magnesium, and Professor Bo Liu, Professor of USTB, along with more than 30 representatives from the four organizations.
The successful trial production of the super-large magnesium alloy rear car body white body marks a milestone: magnesium alloy applications have advanced from components to full-vehicle structures, and from laboratory research to industrial-scale production. The project tackled 48 major technical challenges, including 12 first-of-its-kind industry breakthroughs. Compared to conventional aluminum alloy solutions, the magnesium rear car body achieves a 21.8% weight reduction and an overall performance improvement of more than 10%.
Representatives of the four parties jointly unveiled the first trial-produced body-in-white
At the ceremony, Academician Fusheng Pan highlighted three key points: Firstly, magnesium alloy technology maturity now enables 50+ kg application per vehicle, with future progress toward 100+ kg and 200+ kg requiring further breakthroughs—making this achievement a true milestone. Secondly, energy security is a national cornerstone, and China’s “dual carbon” commitment to the world makes lightweighting one of the most effective solutions for energy saving and emissions reduction, with magnesium alloys being among the most effective lightweight materials. Thirdly, this outcome demonstrates remarkable results from academia–industry collaborative innovation, serving as a model of efficient cooperation with a full-chain mechanism of concept integration, technical collaboration, and product implementation. He stressed: “Despite challenges in the EV industry, the development of electric vehicles must continue for the sake of national energy security, and the core lies in sustained technological breakthroughs.”
Academician Pan Fusheng delivering his speech
Jianyong Gong, Vice President of Seres AITO Wenjie BG, noted that the project generated numerous patents, papers, and standards, covering every stage from new material formulations and die-casting processes to joining technologies and corrosion protection. These outcomes provide critical support for national industrial security and reflect the technological confidence of Chinese enterprises in the global industrial chain restructuring.
Vice President Gong Jianyong delivering his speech
At the roll-off ceremony, Danghe Shi, Assistant General Manager of Seres AITO Wenjie BG Vehicle Technology Platform; Professor Bo Liu, Deputy Director of USTB; Faping Wen, Vice Chairman of Baowu Magnesium; and Hai Zhou, Head of the Vehicle Lightweight Division at Seres AITO Wenjie BG, also delivered speeches and reported on project progress.
Full view of the first trial-produced body-in-white (featuring the magnesium alloy rear body structure)
Known as the “noble metal” of automotive materials, magnesium alloy is a green, strategic material with excellent vibration-damping, noise-reduction, and extreme lightweighting properties. Seres has long prioritized magnesium and other lightweight materials as a core strategic direction, systematically advancing their R&D and industrial application. Currently, its AITO Wenjie series models feature more than 10 magnesium alloy components per vehicle, with usage reaching the 20 kg level, ranking among the leaders in the industry.
With the magnesium alloy rear car body now entering full-vehicle trial production, Seres is accelerating the creation of a “materials–process–product” integrated technological moat. This revolution in lightweighting and safety, originating in Chongqing, offers a new global solution for the automotive industry’s lightweight transformation, establishing a new benchmark in NEV lightweight alloy R&D. It is poised to reshape the global landscape of new material development and application in NEVs, showcasing China’s innovation strength and strategic vision in high-end automotive manufacturing.
Group photo at the launch ceremony
During the project, Professor Bin Jiang’s group from Academician Pan’s team, together with the Mingyue Lake Laboratory research team, overcame multiple technical bottlenecks, making breakthroughs in low-cost, high-fluidity, high-performance alloy design and engineering, large-volume melt purification, die-casting defect prediction and control, efficient joining, and corrosion protection. These advances ensured the high-quality trial production of the super-large magnesium alloy rear car body and laid a solid foundation for scaling up mass production and wider application of ultra-large integrated die-cast magnesium components.
International Mg Society