Japanese diecasters and secondary aluminum alloy smelters are closely following the progress of Nissan Motor's electric passenger vehicle Note ePOWER, which has become a best seller in November -- the month of its launch, sources said Tuesday.
The Note ePOWER was launched on November 2, and 15,784 units of the model were sold in that month making it the highest selling car model in the country, according to Japan Automobile Dealers Association.
"The boom of Note suggests that motor-run electric vehicles will become popular faster than we initially thought, and that engines will become obsolete. We, diecasters, need to start thinking about survival," said one diecaster source.
Note comes with a gasoline engine made of secondary aluminum alloys, and a motor. The car does not have any transmission components.
The engine generates electricity that drives the car by running the motor, sources said.
A typical Japanese car consumes at least 80 kg of ADC alloys, mainly for the engine and transmission components, according to industry data.
"Requirement of auto diecasting alloys will decrease as the alloy is used predominantly for engine and transmission parts. More cars will have a motor rather than an engine, and ADC will be used for small motor components," said one Japanese trader.
The other top selling car models in Japan during November were hybrid passenger vehicles which have a gasoline engine and a motor.
Toyota Motor's hybrid passenger vehicle, Prius, with a gasoline engine and a motor, came in second, selling 13,333 units, and Aqua, a hybrid Toyota car, came in third selling 12,409 cars, and the fourth was Sienta, also a Toyota hybrid car.
"The Note model selling better than hybrid vehicles will likely to trigger other Japanese automakers to speed up releases of electric vehicles with no engines," the diecaster added.
But automakers are under greater pressure to make lighter cars. There are car components made of steel and other material that could be replaced by aluminum, sources said.
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