A new forecast indicates that Tesla’s manufacturing efficiency will improve significantly for its upcoming model upgrades. Michigan-based engineering services company Caresoft Global Technologies, which specializes in physical and digital benchmarking, estimates that Tesla’s capital investments in plants might reduce by up to 30 percent in the future.
Tesla’s manufacturing efficiencies have drawn much attention in recent years. Last year, an analysis named its Fremont facility as North America’s most productive automotive factory. The plant reportedly produced more vehicles per week than Toyota’s Georgetown, Kentucky facility, BMW’s Spartanburg, South Carolina factory and Ford’s Dearborn, Michigan truck plant.
"Tesla has a corporate culture of pursuing radical improvements from year to year, even in the same nameplate's design," Caresoft CEO Mathew Vachaparampil told Automotive News. The company projects that assembly times for future Tesla models will improve by 25 percent, while factory floor space is set to reduce by 30 percent, along with better paint shop efficiency.
The brand’s manufacturing prowess, which it even likes to flaunt, has turned heads in the automotive industry. One such example is the giga press, a high-pressure die-casting machine that injects molten aluminum into casting molds. The process reduced complexities for certain assemblies like the rear underbody and quite radically cut the number of parts required.
Multiple legacy carmakers echoed Tesla’s approach after the brand successfully implemented the technique on the Model Y and Model 3. Although, brands like Toyota have some catching up to do. The bZ4X is lagging three years behind the Model Y in its material and manufacturing costs, as per Caresoft’s analysis of EVs.
Tesla’s manufacturing prowess is also reflected in its sales numbers. Its global electric car production was up by 44 percent in Q1 2023 compared to Q1 2022. Although it's not all perfect. Even though Cybertruck’s production appears to be finally underway, the brand has faced several challenges and delays during the course of its development.
