Need some help from people in the car industry like.

[Imhotep Evil]

How how long does it take a car to develope fully ?!
2/3 years or double that time ?!
When do skinned prototypes apear in this cycle ?!

[Dayi]

I know of volvo xc90 prototype that it will begin to produce next year summer (june-july). New car means new kind of materials in that factory, maybe more personnel or more space. Now they are working on it here.

[Centurion]

From idea to reaching the show rooms it usually takes 4 years. Lots of decisions, calculations and modifications in the factories have to be made.

[Ultimate Car Guy]

4 to 5 years, but depends on which brand and company. The japanese like Toyota, are very efficient and they develop a new model in approx 4 years.

A general outline:

Year 1- Board/Discussions, management and project planning, budgeting, marketing research. And later in the year, technical specifications, packaging and vehicle pre-development. Tenders to suppliers.

Year 2- Advanced vehicle development, technical integration, product design and development. And a bit of trialing and testing.

Year 3- Vehicle testing and evaluation, refining, quality control and review.

Year 4- Vehicle testing, production planning, pilot manufacturing.

And finally launch.

This process obviously varies from different companies, and it's expected to get shorter with the advancement in simulation technology CAD/CAE etc.

[Imhotep Evil]

So basicaly just as I tought.
I had a problem with someone who claimed he's in the auto industry and all you need is 18 months in Toyota's case.

[The Artist]

Originally Posted by Dayi

I know of volvo xc90 prototype that it will begin to produce next year summer (june-july). New car means new kind of materials in that factory, maybe more personnel or more space. Now they are working on it here.

that is not correct.. my cousin works at Volvo Torslanda..
he is working on the interior of the XC90 right now.. the interior is under development..
the exterior design is already done..
so they started designing the car a while back i guess

[Ultimate Car Guy]

Originally Posted by Imhotep Evil

all you need is 18 months in Toyota's case.

18 months is way too quick.

A lot of PLANNING is involved in the development process.

Remember that a car company will commit hundreds of millions of dollars (sometimes even billions) in developing a new car, so the accountants, marketers, engineers and purchasing officers really need to make a SOLID business case in order for a management team to approve the development of a new car.