What Is The Time It Takes To Assemble A Car?

Last Updated on January 25, 2023 by Leepu Da Maxim

Different manufacturers have different times depending on the specific car model. In most cases, it takes between 17 and 18 hours to completely assemble a car. This includes stamping, welding, painting, assembly, and inspections.

Key Takeaways

• How much time it takes to assemble a car mostly depends on the type of car, the manufacturing facility, and the production process
• There are a few factors that affect the assembly time of a car like the complexity of the car’s design, the level of automation used in the assembly process, etc.
• On average, it could take 17 to 18 hours to assemble a car

Assembling A Car – Main Aspects

Aspects	Description
Average Assembly Time	17 to 18 hours are required to assemble a medium-sized car
Assembly Time For Small Cars	Small or simple design cars need only 11 hours for assembly
Cars Ready Every Certain Amount Of Time	In many factories, a car is ready every 45 to 90 seconds
Delivery Time Of Cars In The United States	U.S.-made cars are typically delivered in 8 weeks

Important Aspects At The Time Of Assembling A Car 

Before considering this aspect, it is important to know that today’s car manufacturers use the assembly line in the production process. This happens because Henry Ford revolutionized at the beginning of the last century the production process of cars and many other industries. The assembly line was implemented in most factories from Henry Ford’s idea.

Here it is a line through which each product passes, in this case, the cars. In turn, within the factory, the different workers are specialized in a particular task. In this way, the amount of idle time generated by the old factory organization can be reduced.

So Henry Ford’s production technique has allowed for increased productivity in the automotive industry and any other industry that implements this mode of production. That is why today it takes only a few hours to assemble a car due to the great technological advances of these times.

At the time it took 12.5 hours to completely assemble and mount the Model T. After implementing this new technique and speeding up the production process, only 93 minutes were needed, that is, 1 hour and 33 minutes. This represents an 87.6% reduction in the time required to manufacture each vehicle.

1. Assembling A Car Today

Of course, today’s vehicles need to meet several important aspects and quality standards to offer a safe and reliable ride to users. However, one of the important aspects of Henry Ford’s manufacturing process is still respected and that is the pressed parts. 

In such a way that today some manufacturers like Toyota have 30,000 parts for the manufacture of for example a sport utility vehicle. Many of the parts are assembled beforehand to reduce the time required for these tasks. This is the way to reduce labor time these days.

Besides, there are a large number of factories throughout the world that are dedicated to preparing pre-assembled parts. All these parts are then sent to the final assembly plant where the vehicle will finally be complete. As we have mentioned, all these press parts reduce the work required to be done by the final assembly plant.

2. Some Of The Parts That Are Ready To Be Installed In The Final Assembly Are:

1. Wiring Harnesses

2. Radios

3. Front And Rear Seats

4. Motors

5. Various Electrical Accessories

A large part of the final assembly process also takes into consideration the manufacture of the body. In principle, the body is usually manufactured at the final assembly plant itself. Here it is necessary to use different types of steel for stamping and forming into the appropriate shape.

At the same time, the design of each car is taken into consideration to make the assembly correct. These designs are developed by many automotive engineers after a long time of development and research.

Also, elements such as cabin integrity, penetration protection, and crumple zones are incorporated. All these aspects increase the safety of the driver and passengers in some way.

Here the white body industry means robots that are dedicated to the welding of the various materials involved in the body. In such a way that it is the assembly of the metal parts that will later make up the chassis and frame of the car. Laser-bonded systems, as well as hand systems, are used to inspect the body-in-white.

This structure must also be inspected after it is cleaned, coated with a base coat, and dried. Once the inspection is successful then a colored coat of paint is incorporated, a drying procedure, and the final clear coat.

To harden the paint and obtain a special finish, an industrial oven is used. Once this is completed then proceed to the next area of the production line to attach the interior, powertrain, and any remaining parts.

3. Total Assembly Time

To mention the internet if we only take into consideration the mid-range cars that are usually seen in large quantities on the streets of any city. Cars are luxury and high-performance vehicles that usually need a greater amount of time for assembly and other procedures. 

Moreover, it is not only the final assembly time that must be taken into consideration. A great deal of time is required for the production of each bolt, nut, and screw. Fortunately, all these procedures can be performed at the same time since different factories are used all over the world.

Also, the assembly time or total production time of different manufacturers can vary considerably. Some vehicles such as many Rolls Royce models have a large amount of manual labor incorporated. Manual labor is always more time-consuming than automated labor.

Some models from this manufacturer can take 6 months to produce alone. The high costs are also related to the slow production time and very limited sales. However, many people consider that the longer production time is related to more personalized attention and a high-quality vehicle.

Toyota vehicles, including many sport utility vehicles, trucks, and cars, can require 17 to 18 hours for assembly. All those vehicles that are small in size or simple in design may require only 11 hours. 

Thus, the world’s largest manufacturers have the potential to produce some 400,000 cars each year. Other growing manufacturers such as Tesla aspire to reach this level of production per year. 

References:

https://axleaddict.com/auto-industry/How-Long-Do-You-Think-It-Takes-To-Make-a-Car

https://itstillruns.com/long-build-car-start-finish-7811332.html