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Tesla CEO Elon Musk posted on social media on the 9th local time, stating that redesigning the Cybercab production process achieved a production speed more than 5 times faster than traditional car manufacturing models. He explained that relying on the Unboxed (disassembly modular production) mode, various assembly modules are produced in parallel, and the entire vehicle is assembled at the final step; the production line footprint is halved, and output increases. The Cybercab, which started production at the Texas Gigafactory in February 2026, has become an industry focus again thanks to the astonishing production capacity achieved in just over half a year.
Of course, there are still unresolved issues. As of early September, only 45 Cybercabs are registered in Texas, accounting for 11% of the total 420 registered autonomous vehicles in Tesla's Texas. The effect of cost reduction remains to be verified by the actual utilization rate and final vehicle selling price. Drastic changes in production models are not exclusive to Tesla. Vehicle manufacturers like Ford and Hyundai Motor Group are reworking their assembly lines in their own ways. The century-old underlying logic of automobile manufacturing is wavering. This article reviews the technical routes of each company.
After Henry Ford, the iteration of production models
In 1913, Henry Ford introduced assembly line assembly at his Highland Park Plant in Michigan. The body moves along the conveyor belt, and workers at fixed stations repeatedly complete assigned tasks. The Model T went off the line in 90 minutes, and cars truly went to the masses. This model became the standard paradigm of the automotive industry for over a hundred years thereafter.
The electrification era is overturning this logic. Internal combustion engines and gearboxes are eliminated, and the number of parts is greatly reduced; simplified vehicle structures centered around batteries and motors have spawned new assembly processes. Starting with Tesla, Ford, Hyundai Motor Group, Toyota, Volkswagen, and BYD, each car manufacturer has offered different solutions. The focus of EV competition is shifting from batteries and software to the manufacturing process itself.
Tesla Abandoning Conveyor Belts
Tesla first unveiled the Unboxed modular production process on Investor Day in March 2023, redefining the concept of sequential assembly. Instead of completing the entire vehicle sequentially along a long assembly line, the 5 major modules—front cabin large die-cast parts, rear cabin large die-cast parts, structural battery pack, interior, and pre-painted exterior coverings—are manufactured synchronously on independent lines, and finally assembled into a complete vehicle at once in the final assembly area.
In traditional car manufacturing, painting is an independent process after the body is completed. The Unboxed mode directly colors the component panels in advance, eliminating the whole vehicle painting step. Tesla's goal is to reduce the Model Y production cost by nearly half and compress the single vehicle assembly time to 5-10 seconds. Referencing the 33-second production cycle of a single Model Y at Shanghai Gigafactory, the target speed is equivalent to more than 3 times the current level.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office granted Tesla the Unboxed process patent in September 2025. The first model to implement this process is the autonomous Robotaxi Cybercab, mass-produced at the Texas Gigafactory in February 2026. Existing mass-produced models such as Model 3, Model Y, and Cybertruck have not fully implemented this process yet. The planned budget-friendly new cars under $30,000 mass-produced in the middle of 2026 will also adopt this production method. However, there is also industry skepticism: Can this production line achieve multi-model co-line production? Referencing Tesla's past record of multiple production delays, whether this process can land stably on schedule remains to be seen.
Ford: Three-Path Split "Assembly Tree" Production Line
As the pioneer of assembly lines, Ford, after over a century, is personally deconstructing the production system it invented itself. Universal EV Production System (Universal EV Production System): Splits a single long production line into front, middle, and rear three branches, finally converging for final assembly, Ford calls this Assembly Tree (assembly tree). This architecture was made possible by eliminating internal combustion engine and gearbox assembly processes: The middle production line responsible for assembling batteries, seats, center consoles, and carpets serves as the main trunk, while front and rear cabin large aluminum die-cast parts are completed on independent lines and then merge into final assembly. Parts and tools are transported along the assembly tree to corresponding workstations, reducing workers' body twisting and large arm reaching actions.
This system was first implemented at Ford's Louisville Assembly Plant in Kentucky. Ford invested $2 billion to retrofit this plant and $3 billion in the Michigan battery plant, totaling an investment of $5 billion. The scrap metal from demolition reached 25,000 tons, and installing the new truss structure consumed a total weld length of 700 miles (about 1,126 km). The plant's first mass-produced model is the $30,000 level mid-size electric pickup Fathom. Ford stated that the assembly speed of this universal EV production system increased by 40% compared to traditional lines; the factory added dedicated workstations where software can be pre-flashed before module assembly; the plant's 5G network supports synchronized quality inspection during the assembly process. Parts mass production is scheduled for Q1 2027, and official mass production for consumers is expected in 2028.
Ford stopped electric pickup F-150 Lightning production in December 2025, with the official reason being the inability to find a viable profit path. This massive investment in the Louisville plant forms a sharp contrast with it, reflecting Ford's shift in electrification focus towards affordable high-volume models.
Hyundai Motor Group: Exploring Two Process Routes in Parallel
Hyundai Motor Group has not selected a single route but is synchronously advancing differentiated manufacturing innovation in Singapore, the US, and Ulsan.
The Hyundai Motor Group Global Innovation Center HMGICS located in Jurong, Singapore, directly abandons conveyor belts. The factory layout includes 27 oval independent work cells to achieve multi-model flexible mixed-line production. AGV unmanned transfer robots can carry up to 3 tons of car body, transporting between work cells, replacing conveyor belts. Boston Dynamics' quadruped robot Spot captures assembly points to complete quality inspection. The factory produces both IONIQ5 and autonomous Robotaxis simultaneously, with an annual capacity of over 30,000 units, leaning towards an experimental factory for small batches and multi-varieties.
The HMGMA (North American Gigafactory) in Ellaville, Georgia, US, scales the cell mode up to mass production scale. It adopts manufacturing platforms verified by HMGICS, with an annual capacity of 300,000 units; 161 Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR) achieve logistics automation for interior assembly; the battery module factory is directly connected to the vehicle factory via a tunnel conveyor belt, improving logistics efficiency. The factory started producing the IONIQ5, added the Kia Sorento Hybrid model on June 2, 2026, and continues to expand co-line models.
The third route is in Ulsan, South Korea. Unlike 1996's Asan plant where Hyundai built a new vehicle plant, they chose to build a giant die-cast dedicated production line within the existing Ulsan factory. Using 6,000-ton or larger large-scale die-casting equipment to form car body parts in one piece, greatly reducing the number of parts and welding processes. Industry forecasts predict this process will be featured first on the 2026 large electric SUV Genesis GV90.
Hyundai Motor Group's route differs from Tesla and Ford, belonging to a dual-line parallel strategy: The Singapore factory focuses on the Cell cell mode for small batches and multi-varieties; the Georgia and Ulsan factories target large-scale mass production, developing large die-casting and automated logistics. Not pursuing a single standard answer, they implement multiple solutions in parallel based on production capacity scale and product goals.
Toyota, Volkswagen, BYD: Their Respective Routes?
Toyota still relies on the two pillars of the TPS Toyota Production System: Just-in-Time production and Jidoka (Autonomation), while conducting new trials. In June 2023, the Technical Workshop unveiled the self-driving assembly line: EVs rely on their own sensors to move autonomously through various processes, eliminating the need for conveyor belts. The goal is to reduce equipment investment and adapt to multi-variety, small-batch production. Meanwhile, next-generation EVs (prioritizing Lexus) will implement large die-casting processes starting from the 2026 model year, with the vehicle body split into three major parts (front, middle, rear) assembled integrally.
Volkswagen once launched the Trinity project benchmarking against Tesla, planning to build a new factory in Wolfsburg, compressing single-vehicle manufacturing time to 10 hours, only one-third of ID.3's current production duration. However, software R&D delays, management changes, and stagnant European EV demand led to repeated postponements. In 2026, Volkswagen is considering closing 4 factories in Germany and laying off up to 100,000 people. This case fully illustrates that even grand manufacturing innovation concepts are easily shelved in the face of financial crises.
Chinese BYD does not fuss over production line forms, focusing instead on vertical supply chain integration. 70-80% of core parts such as batteries, power semiconductors, motors, and electronic controls are developed and produced in-house, building a system immune to external supply chain fluctuations. The Shenzhen headquarters final assembly line produces a complete vehicle every 51 seconds. R&D of parts allows battery technology iterations to be synchronized to vehicle design and manufacturing processes quickly, which is the core reason behind its high cadence.
The Key in the End: Cost and Execution Capability
Each company's route is different, but the general direction is converging: Relying on large die-casting to reduce parts; abandoning fixed conveyor belts, shifting to flexible logistics with robots and AGVs; completing software flashing in advance during the assembly stage. Every company is utilizing the simplified vehicle structure brought by electrification to forge their own path.
But the implementation progress differs significantly among companies: Hyundai Motor Group operates a small-scale Singapore test line while advancing Georgia and Ulsan mass production lines, and has even integrated hybrid models into production. Tesla and Ford have set commercialization timelines using Cybercab and Fathom as explicit new vehicle carriers, but it still takes time to reach stable mass production. In contrast, Volkswagen proves that manufacturing innovation is easily downgraded due to corporate financial conditions.
Now, the EV markets in various global regions are cooling and heating differently, and manufacturing innovation has become a cost-reduction measure that determines the life or death of car companies. It cannot be determined yet which process will become the industry new standard, but the conveyor belt assembly line that has lasted for a hundred years is no longer the only solution.
