Let’s visit the stamping plant. Your Volvo is born from one of these rolls of sheet metal. Each roll holds some 3,000 meters of galvanised steel, enough for 600 side panels. 

The steel surface is smoothed and checked for cracks and deformations. Then we stack the sheets and prepare them to be pressed into sides, roofs and floors.

In the body shop, there are 550 robots that help weld doors, bonnets, front wings and roofs. Laser welding technology is used for the roof because it uses lower temperatures, reducing stress on the metal. At this stage you begin to see the contours of your new Volvo. 

An interesting detail here is the computerised measuring machine controlling the process. Volvo Cars was the first car manufacturer to use this technology, originally developed for the aircraft industry.

When the body is completed it is transported from the body shop to a phosphatising process for pre-treatment to get good primer protection. After this, the body is taken to our dust and dirt-free paint shop to be painted by around 80 robots in one of approximately 20 beautiful colours. 

The paint shop is considered to be one of the cleanest in the car industry and features a unique air filtration system.

Your car arrives at the assembly plant. This is where the major part of the manual assembly work takes place. At this point all the components needed for your car will be in place. Many of them are delivered specifically for your car, directly to the production line, just a few hours before the car is assembled.

These suppliers are located close to the factory and deliver 'Just-in time.' The suppliers play a very important role in the entire supply chain to make sure we can produce and deliver your car according to schedule.

One of the first components we assemble in the body is the inflatable curtain. It helps to protect the head of the driver and the passengers in the event of a side impact. The inflatable curtain is standard in our cars and was invented by Volvo Cars in 1998.

This is where the body meets the whole chassis. The driving package consists of the power pack, the multi-link rear axle, the exhaust system and the fuel system. The body is lowered over the driving package. Two parts become one in what is aptly called the "marriage point". 

We now continue to mount the dashboard, roof lining, seats and windscreen. When most of the interior equipment is in place we mount the doors, which also include the speaker system you ordered.

In the last part of the assembly line we mount bumpers and wheels. We also fill all the fluids such as fuel, engine oil and antifreeze. Before testing everything we download the software for the car’s computer systems. Each car gets a software version optimised for the on-board equipment. 

Now it’s time to start the car for the first time. Extensive function tests are carried out on each car, which include everything from brakes to the horn. In randomly tested cars, the tightness of the seals is tested in monsoon-like conditions.