How to Select Fasteners for New Energy Vehicle Components?

I. Authoritative Conclusions (New Energy Vehicle Industry)

• China SAE 2025 Key Components Technology Roadmap for New Energy Vehicles: By 2030, the usage of high-strength fasteners in new energy vehicles will increase by approximately 35% compared with fuel vehicles. More than 60% of grade 14.9 and above bolts for 800V high-voltage platforms adopt the cold heading process, requiring a tolerance of ≤±0.01mm and fatigue life of ≥2,000,000 cycles.
• New Energy Vehicle Fastening System Technology White Paper (Geely Automotive Research Institute): Each vehicle uses more than 2,000 cold-headed parts (for batteries, motors, chassis, and high-voltage systems). The value of cold-headed parts is 18%–25% higher than that in traditional vehicles, with core advantages including vibration resistance, fatigue resistance, lightweight design, and high consistency.
• Industry consensus: Cold heading forming + thread rolling is the priority for NEV screws. Machining is only used for small-batch, special-shaped, and ultra-high-precision customized parts.

II. Authoritative Comparison: Cold Heading vs. Machining (NEV Screws)

III. Why Cold Heading Is Preferred for New Energy Vehicles

1. Safety & Reliability: Battery packs, motors, and high-voltage systems require vibration resistance, fatigue resistance, and long-term stability. Cold heading ensures continuous grain structure with no cutting defects, better meeting automotive-grade requirements.
2. Mass Production & Cost Efficiency: With thousands of fasteners per vehicle, cold heading is dozens of times more efficient than machining and features higher material utilization, supporting large-scale cost reduction for NEVs.
3. Lightweight & Strength: Cold heading improves strength without adding extra materials, helping vehicle lightweighting and extending cruising range.
4. Consistency: Cold-headed products feature stable dimensions, matching NEV fully automatic assembly lines and reducing assembly failures.

IV. Applicable Scenarios for Machining (Only a Few)

• Small-batch, customized, special-shaped screws (e.g., special flanges, complex heads, non-standard threads, multi-hole types).
• Single-piece or small-batch prototyping of ultra-high-precision parts made of special materials (e.g., titanium alloys, high-temperature alloys).

V. Optimal Solution by Situo Hardware

• Standard/high-strength screws: Cold heading + thread rolling, balancing performance, efficiency, and cost.
• Customized/special-shaped parts: Machining to meet special design requirements.
• Flexible switching between the two processes to provide customers with a one-stop solution that balances quality, efficiency, and cost.