Cars

Mercedes-AMG ONE hand-assembly begins

By Sagar

Posted on August 11, 2022

Mercedes-AMG ONE: hand-assembled in the UK.

I know, it has been a long wait, but the day has finally arrived for all 275 future owners of the Mercedes-AMG ONE, as the production of the customer cars has begun in the UK. While the powertrain components are being put together by the F1 experts at the Mercedes‑AMG High Performance Powertrains in Brixworth, UK, the rest of the car is being hand-assembled somewhere in Coventry, UK.

Each car goes through a total of 16 assembly and testing stations, with over 50 specialists working on each car. Some of the components are first pre-assembled and tested, just to ensure that they work, then disassembled again for final installation. The carbon-fibre monocoque with a bonded-in roof as well as all detachable body parts, for example, are done this way.

The entire outer skin is the first to be completely assembled. All the fits are meticulously checked and, if necessary, adjusted for size. In the process, the specialists have to take into account the final lacquering, which adds its own material thickness. Given that the wall thickness of the carbon is only 1.2 mm in certain locations, this is a difficult task. Once everything fits together perfectly, parts including doors and bonnets are dismantled again and then hand-painted as a set for each individual vehicle, ensuring a perfect color match of the entire vehicle. In the next assembly step, the powertrain and the body-in-white are assembled.

Here’s a general overview of the production steps organized into 16 main stations:

Station 1 to 4: assembly of the mechanical parts and all low-voltage components as well as installation of powertrain components including vehicle electricals.
Station 5 to 6: assembly of the high-voltage battery pack and high-voltage connections, and test runs of combustion engine and electric motors.
Station 7: interior installation.
Station 8: assembly of exterior body panels and doors. During this process, all the pre-finished body panels (including front clam and rear clam) and doors meet the main assembly line from the sub-assembly area of the facility. Here, special challenges may come due to any bespoke wishes of the customer.
Station 9: continuation of exterior installation, mainly front and rear clam.
Station 10: final installation of the exterior body.
Station 11: assembly of wheels and floor panels.
Station 12: adjustment of wheels and headlamps.
Station 13: roller dynamometer testing in all driving modes.
Station 14: four-post NVH test (noise, vibration, harshness), fine-tuning if necessary.
Station 15: monsoon rain test.
Station 16: light booth with a visual inspection of all surfaces, and technical function tests of all components.

Post all of this, the finished car undergoes final acceptance testing by a factory test driver at a nearby proving ground. And once the driver approves of the car, the car gets transport protection covers and is transported in a closed truck to the Mercedes‑AMG headquarters in Affalterbach where the official handover takes place following a technical briefing to the owner by the experts. The first customer units are expected to be delivered later this year.