What’s simpler to assemble, 70 parts or two?
The first post in the series - https://www.ekalore.com/post/alien-sighting-ev-production-showdown explained that Tesla is not only developing disruptive products but specialized production processes that give it a substantial competitive advantage. This post goes into a little more detail.
A key technique used by Tesla is very large-scale metal casting to form the front and rear assemblies of a vehicle frame that holds the rest of the vehicle together. Traditional/legacy manufacturing methods had production methods using many assembled metal parts grouped around large structural elements (unibody). The disadvantage for the vehicle life cycle is that damage from collisions may result in a total loss of the vehicle instead of a percentage of the vehicle being repairable.
The economic efficiency around rapid assembly is a key result of using this technique. VW has acknowledged moving vehicle assembly from 90% manual work to 20-30% automation. This compares with relatively sparse amounts of labor seen on videos of Tesla’s production lines. Tesla has acknowledged using 1,000 robots on a single Model 3 production line. The Tesla CyberTruck will also benefit from the application of this technique. VW sees vehicle designs for manufacturing using more modular/sub-assembly elements. EVs present the opportunity for re-conceptualizing vehicle design for manufacturing.
The VW targets have used examples of 50 components in one module. The Tesla large-scale casting techniques for the Model Y replaced 70 parts in the rear with 2 at first. moving to just 1 in the latest iterative improvement. Tesla replaced 370 parts in the Model Y (140 front and rear) with three modules. For Model 3 production large-scale metal casting eliminated 300 robots for the front and 300 robots for the rear assembly. Automated material handling and eliminated production work lower costs per vehicle. Eliminating robots and reducing assembly work are obvious boosts to EV production line capital expenses and per-vehicle costs.
EkaLore helps executives make, defend, and execute choices concerning process, people, and strategy. Look for more pieces on competitive strategy at www.ekalore.com/alien-invaders
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