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Minutes from car production: how a car is made, step by step

Minutes from car production: how a car is made, step by step

All this year Škoda Storyboard has let you follow a Škoda Kodiaq’s progress down the production line. Here you can find all the production stages, from the welding shop to the test polygon, all in one place.

10. 12. 2024 Škoda World

The second generation of the successful Kodiaq SUV is being built at the Škoda plant in Kvasiny. It was here that we spent a whole year looking at the various stages of production – each of the important steps in one minute. In the following overview, you can follow the entire production process in less than a quarter of an hour.

Bodywork in the welding shop

In the welding shop, industrial robots use spot-welding technology to join parts like the front and rear floors, side panels and roof. The result is a car body that is very strong and dimensionally precise.

Painting

In the paint shop, the bodywork is first degreased and then given an anti-corrosion coating in a bath. Paint robots then apply the base coat, the so-called filler, followed by a coat of colour paint after it has dried and been checked.

Windscreen fitting

While the interior of the car receives its upholstery (the headliner wouldn’t fit into the car otherwise), the next step on the line is to install the windscreen and rear window. The glass is glued to the prepared bodywork, and the experienced workers get the job done in just two minutes.

Dashboard installation

The entire dashboard assembly with instrument panel, infotainment display, glove compartment and other elements are installed in one go using a special manipulator. The only thing missing is the steering wheel, which the Kodiaq will get later.

Wedding

The engine, gearbox, driveshafts and axles, tank and other elements aren’t fitted to the car individually, but as one unit. In car industry parlance, the operation of joining the chassis and body assembly is called the wedding.

The car gets a face

Once the body, chassis and power units have been joined and other elements like the radiator have been fitted, the car can finally get its face, the front end. First to be put in place are the headlights, then the front bumper assembly with the radiator grille.

Finally standing on its own four wheels

Assembly of the wheels on the production line is facilitated by manipulators. Their strong arms lift the wheels and tyres and the worker guides the wheels into place for the first fitting. Then all they have to do is insert the bolts and tighten them all at once.

Seats and steering wheel

The seats’ weight means they have to be inserted by a special handling arm. This allows the worker to grab the seat and slide it into the car through the door opening. The driver’s seat is the first to go in, followed immediately by another worker installing the steering wheel.

Doors

The doors come last. These are fitted complete, i.e. with glass, trim and all electrical equipment. Using a handling arm, the worker grabs the door from the inside as if he were about to enter the car.

The car comes to life

At the end of the production line, the car is started up and drives away for final inspection. But first the car has to be brought to life using software. The employee “wakes up” the car using a special portable device.

Inspection and test-drive

The finished car has to pass inspection. In a light tunnel, workers check that everything is in order. Then the car goes with a test driver to the quality test polygon. The driver checks that the engine, brakes and controls are working properly.

Škoda Kodiaq

Our Minutes from car production series let you watch a Škoda Kodiaq being built. The second generation of the spacious SUV offers up to 910 litres of luggage space, up to seven passenger seats and a range of Simply Clever details and advanced assistance and safety systems. Under the bonnet, it can have powerful petrol, diesel or – for the first time in a large SUV – plug-in hybrid powerplants with outputs ranging from 110 to 150 kW. The second generation also comes in sporty RS version, which is powered by the popular 2.0 TSI EVO engine delivering 195 kW, 15 kW more than its predecessor. DSG automatic transmission is standard (now with the selector on the steering column), as is all-wheel drive.

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  1. 2024
  2. design
  3. Kodiaq

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