Strategic Supplier Selection Criteria for Lightweight Component Manufacturing in EV Supply Chains

Abstract

The rapid expansion of electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing has intensified the need for reliable, technologically capable, cost-efficient, and sustainable suppliers of lightweight components. Lightweight materials such as aluminium alloys, magnesium alloys, advanced high-strength steels, and fibre-reinforced composites are increasingly important for reducing vehicle mass, improving energy efficiency, extending driving range, and optimizing battery performance. However, supplier selection for these components is more complex than conventional cost-oriented sourcing because material quality, manufacturing precision, process capability, delivery reliability, technological competence, sustainability, circularity, supply resilience, and lifecycle cost must be evaluated simultaneously. Existing supplier-selection research demonstrates the suitability of multi-criteria decision-making approaches for handling such multidimensional decisions, while recent EV-oriented studies emphasize environmental performance, technological quality, supply resilience, and strategic sustainability. (ScienceDirect) This paper develops a strategic criteria framework specifically for lightweight component suppliers in EV supply chains. The proposed framework integrates six major dimensions: quality and engineering capability, cost competitiveness, delivery and operational reliability, technological and innovation capability, environmental and circularity performance, and supply-chain resilience and strategic compatibility. Particular emphasis is placed on material efficiency, manufacturing scrap, recyclability, energy consumption, process stability, capacity scalability, digital manufacturing capability, and disruption preparedness. The framework provides a structured basis for supplier prequalification, comparative evaluation, supplier development, and long-term sourcing decisions in the rapidly evolving EV manufacturing ecosystem.