| Abstract Scope |
We present a production-oriented digital framework that accelerates body-in-white (BIW) material strategy from early design to manufacturing scale-up. The method combines Monte Carlo architecture sampling, first-principles mechanical constraints, and volume-dependent cost modeling to evaluate steel, mixed-metal, aluminum-intensive, and giga-casting pathways in one decision space. Outputs are expressed as an actionable strategy map over annual volume and value of mass reduction, revealing commercialization breakpoints, capital-sensitive transitions, and architecture crossover boundaries. Results show that giga-casting is not universally superior: it enters the Pareto front above about 50,000 vehicles/year and dominates low-mass regions only at higher volume, while mixed-metal cold stamping remains the robust choice below that threshold. For EV programs, powertrain specifications compress lightweighting value into a narrow band, shifting material selection from narrative preference to operating economics. The framework links materials choices to manufacturing deployment, supply-chain resilience, and capital allocation decisions relevant to rapid industrial adoption. |