The_Accessor_Autumn 2025 web - Flipbook - Page 12
JOURNAL
REPAIR TRENDS
Research conducted after
insurance industry concern at
the potential cost of repairing
the large, single-piece aluminium
castings after a rear end collision.
MEGA CASTING
TECH USED BY TESLA CAN
BE CHEAPER TO REPAIR
THAN TRADITIONAL
STRUCTURES
Thatcham Research has revealed the results of a two-year, crash testing, damage
assessment and repair process study on the large rear structure in the Tesla Model Y,
made using “Mega Casting”. The results show that Mega Cast structures can be cheaper
to repair than steel structures, when the manufacturer makes the right choices in design,
engineering, repair techniques and spare parts provision.
new study from
Thatcham Research
reveals that vehicles
incorporating
aluminium mega cast
technology can deliver substantial
repair cost savings compared
to traditional multi-piece steel
constructions, challenging early
industry concerns about repairability.
A
The two-year study has been
conducted at the headquarters of
Thatcham Research in Berkshire, UK
where Tesla Model Y vehicles, which
feature a single piece, aluminium rear
昀氀oor section, have been subjected to a
series of physical crash tests, followed
by damage assessments and repair
technique tests.
The Tesla Model Y’s one-piece,
mega cast rear chassis section,
12
consolidates around 70 individual
components into a single aluminium
casting, to reduce manufacturing
time, cost and environmental impact.
Thatcham Research’s work shows that
this technique, which several other
vehicle manufacturers are planning to
introduce, can also reduce repair costs
in both partial and full replacement
scenarios when compared to
conventional steel, multi-piece vehicle
structures.
“Our research demonstrates that
mega cast technology when properly
implemented with comprehensive
repair guidelines, can deliver signi昀椀cant
bene昀椀ts for insurers, consumers
and the environment,” said Richard
Billyeald, chief research & operations
of昀椀cer at Thatcham Research. “The
Tesla Model Y’s repair costs were
consistently lower than comparable
vehicles with traditional construction
while maintaining structural integrity
and repairability standards, which
reduces the chances of a vehicle being
written off in common accidents,
improving its lifecycle CO2 bene昀椀ts.”
The investigation, designed to
simulate damage from real-world
claims collected from UK insurers
and conducted in cooperation with
Allianz Centre for Technology (AZT)
in Germany, subjected vehicles to
controlled impact tests at varying
severities to assess both damageability
and repairability characteristics.
Comparative analysis revealed that
the Model Y’s mega cast construction
delivered consistent cost advantages
across multiple scenarios. Partial
replacements cost £2,167 less than the
THE ASSESSORS JOURNAL | AUTUMN 2025 | www.iaea-online.org/news/the-assessor
