ARCFOX Body Harvests both “Top 10 Auto Body” and “Best Material”

As various technologies like new energies rapidly evolve, public concerns on safety, particularly in view of electric vehicles, have become multi-dimensional, far beyond traditional concepts.

China Beijing, October 27— Thanks to pioneering auto technologies and adoption of new-type materials, ARCFOX αS is honored “Top 10 Auto Body” and “Best Material” awards from China Automobile Safety Conference & Auto Body Conference. All of the winners must steer through the tough tests with 34 indicators in six dimensions.   

ARCFOX stands out in the fierce competition with over 30 popular models to embrace two honors. What is the trump card that earns ARCFOX S the reputation?

Body structure, performance and manufacturing process are focus points in the first round of evaluation. In the oral defense, ARCFOX S is highly recognized by all the judges for its forward engineered body structure and application of many new materials and processes.

Flexible auto body integrating steel and aluminum. Based on forward engineering, ARCFOX uses steel in the upper part and aluminum in the lower part, which determines the whole vehicle is both strong and lightweight. The materials for the auto body are also carefully selected. While ordinary steel, high-strength steel, advanced high-strength steel and thermal forming steel are adopted for the upper part, 6-series aluminum sheets, 5-series aluminum sheets, aluminum extrusion profiles and aluminum die castings are used for the lower part. Aluminum alloy makes up 46.6% of the whole body, and high-strength steel, advanced high-strength steel and thermal forming steel 33.8%, taking an industrial leadership. This design strongly supports the best performance of each component, and fully combines the advantages of steel and aluminum alloy to enable rigid structure, energy return lightweight, resulting in longer mile range. 

ARCFOX S features safety, durability, integration and lightweight.

Outstanding collision energy transfer design and the new aluminum alloy main sills guarantee high safety. The steels with different strengths, including high-strength steel, advanced high-strength steel and thermal forming steel, in the upper part of the body ensures intactness of the passenger compartment during collision. Much aluminum alloy makes up an energy absorbing area in the lower part of the body. Meanwhile, on the side of the body, ARCFOX combines steel doorsill and aluminum extrusion profile based on the innovative concept of doorsill load-distributing beam. After lateral pole collision, the battery safety distance is 3.7, well above the national standard of not less than zero. As for the front side member, ARCFOX introduces a new aluminum alloy material with a higher yield strength and a collision absorption bending angle of more than 110°, which is far beyond the national standards and meets engineers’ requirement for the energy absorption of front side members in vehicles. That makes the whole body participate in the absorption of energy during collision, and minimalizes the possibility of interior space deformation.   

     The “structure ring”, key section and innovative connection design lead to excellent durability. A cage-like frame is formed based on the “structural ring” design, making the whole-body structure participate in the absorption of energy during collision. Meanwhile, the innovative “mu”-shaped structural section design greatly improves the rigidity of the new-type aluminum alloy material and features a better absorption effect. ARCFOX also innovatively introduces 1,276 SPR locking rivet screws, 430 FDS flow drill screws, more than 150 meters of high-strength structural adhesive and some other advanced connection processes, overcoming the difficulty in connecting different materials and greatly improving body durability.   

The vacuum die casting technology for aluminum alloy integrates key components. With the high pressure cast aluminum process adopted for the front and rear wheel packs, ARCFOX enables integrated design of multiple parts, which not only reduces the number of parts and components, but also improves the precision and strength of the whole body.

ARCFOX features a lightweight coefficient beyond industrial standards and the “ceiling-level” anti-corrosion capability resulted from the excellent aluminum alloy. Thanks to the application of much innovative aluminum alloy, the body lightweight coefficient of ARCFOX S is 1.6, well above the average level in Europe and the industrial average of 2.8. Meanwhile, the new material also gives the lower part of the body an outstanding anti-corrosion performance and six layers of anti-corrosion screens. In the CA-CAP anti-corrosion ratings, ARCFOX was granted a five-star rating, and won the second highest score among the 109 models rated over the past decade. That ensures every ARCFOX vehicle bought by consumers to experience no functional failure or rust wear in a decade.  

Therefore, high scores and two awards for ARCFOX S indeed own to its new materials, new technologies and new concepts in auto body design.

As a leading communication platform for auto body research and manufacturing in China and the whole world and the counterpart of Euro Car Body conference, China Automobile Safety Conference & Auto Body Conference is a specialized industrial forum themed auto body design and manufacturing. Since its launch in 2017, China Auto Body Conference has gradually developed into a highly professional technology event with regional characteristics and won recognition and support from across the industry.

As the sole auto body evaluation for Chinese consumers, “2021 China’s Top 10 Body Award” comprehensively rates cars by safety, comfort and energy efficiency, which catch the most attention from consumers, from perspectives like materials, processes and structures, and thus can be somewhat used by consumers as reference in car purchase. More than a reflection of ARCFOX’s capabilities, winning the “Top 10 Auto Body” and “Best Material” awards also shows ARCFPX’s consistent pursuit of extreme body safety is highly recognized by the industry and consumers.