On August 12, Li Auto product line manager Tang Jing posted on Weibo yesterday, explaining why MEGA made all four of its most expensive doors made of aluminum, but the most conventional hood and fenders were not made of aluminum. Tang Jing said that this was actually to protect pedestrians and was not about cutting corners.
Tang Jing said that in fact, the investment in making car doors made of aluminum is extremely high, not only the cost of the bicycle, but also the investment in the production line, which is tens of millions. The weight reduction efficiency is actually average, and it does not have much user value, so it is rarely used in the industry.
Tang Jing said that the technology for making cabin covers made of aluminum is very mature. The fact that the MEGA cabin cover is not made of aluminum is not cutting corners. If you really want to cut corners, why not cut corners on the four side doors? In fact, it is because the front hatch and fenders need to meet the requirements of G+, the best China Insurance Research Institute rating, for pedestrian protection.
Tang Jing explained that if a car hits a pedestrian and the pedestrian falls back and hits his head on the hood, if the hood is made of aluminum, because the toughness of aluminum is worse than that of steel, the gap under the hood must be large enough. However, the front of the MEGA is very short, which maximizes the interior space. The cabin is full of parts, and the hood is in the shape of a high-speed rail. There is very little space under the cabin. In order to ensure the pedestrian protection of the G+, the cabin cover had to be changed to steel. The fenders also considered pedestrian protection, so we had to find other ways to reduce weight. Due to the high-speed rail shape, the hood and fenders are not large in area, so the weight increase is very limited.
