What is the actual cost of building a car?

[imported_Tomato]

Does anyone know the approximate cost of building a car (i.e. a 2-door coupe)? Can anyone break down the actual costs of parts, labor, etc. vs. the retail price?

 

[MikeMike]

are you talking just materials? or the design, the fab machines, the space, the workers, the what not?

MIKE

 

[radioouman]

This is closely guarded information...

You can get information like "$4000 of every car goes toward paying GM's health care costs", etc. I don't think that you can actually get a true breakdown.

 

[imported_Tomato]

Originally posted by: nourdmrolNMT1
are you talking just materials? or the design, the fab machines, the space, the workers, the what not?

MIKE

Is there any way you could break it down... into just materials, and then the "all inclusive price"?

 

[imported_Tomato]

Originally posted by: radioouman
This is highly confidential information....

I can't seem to find it anywhere online.

So I figured I'd ask here.

 

[Aquaman]

All I know is the old cavalier/sunfires used to be selling at $500 loss per car (at least in Canada). They did that to try to gain brand loyal customers. At the time they where selling for ~$13K but before that they used to sell it for ~$16-18K. That was in the early to mid 90's

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[imported_Tomato]

Originally posted by: Aquaman
All I know is the old cavalier/sunfires used to be selling at $500 loss per car (at least in Canada). They did that to try to gain brand loyal customers. At the time they where selling for ~$13K but before that they used to sell it for ~$16-18K. That was in the early to mid 90's

Cheers,
Aquaman

Interesting... thanks for the info, so it appears a $16,000 really costs about $13,000 to make?

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Tomato

Originally posted by: radioouman
This is highly confidential information....

I can't seem to find it anywhere online.

So I figured I'd ask here.

That is not something any manufacturer will divuldge to the public. There are various costs that are factored into a product though including labor, materials and overhead (which is basically the costs to bring in the materials, store them, costs to administer the business including salaries of non-production employees, etc.).

You will not find this information. Anything posted here or anywhere else is merely speculation.

 

[FoBoT]

isn't labor cost like 50-75% of the costs due to the labor unions?

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Aquaman
All I know is the old cavalier/sunfires used to be selling at $500 loss per car (at least in Canada). They did that to try to gain brand loyal customers. At the time they where selling for ~$13K but before that they used to sell it for ~$16-18K. That was in the early to mid 90's

Cheers,
Aquaman

Loss to who? The dealership? GM directly? I'd be willing to guess that they were selling for $500 under invoice. That doesn't mean that the invoice price is what it costs GM to manufacture the car though.

 

[lowfatbaconboy]

thats like trying to find out processor die yields....its not gona happen

 

[mchammer187]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
isn't labor cost like 50-75% of the costs due to the labor unions?

yes but i'm sure toyota and honda still pay roughly the same without unions

labor costs (engineering inclusive) are going to make up the bulk of any car unless unless they make millions of the same car and sell them this never going to change

 

[MasterAndCommander]

$50. I think I remember it from an episode of the "Simpsons".

 

[vegetation]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
isn't labor cost like 50-75% of the costs due to the labor unions?

There was an article not long ago stating how GM averages out $1500 per vehicle just to pay for retired union worker's health insurance plan.

 

[imported_Tomato]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: Tomato

Originally posted by: radioouman
This is highly confidential information....

I can't seem to find it anywhere online.

So I figured I'd ask here.

That is not something any manufacturer will divuldge to the public. There are various costs that are factored into a product though including labor, materials and overhead (which is basically the costs to bring in the materials, store them, costs to administer the business including salaries of non-production employees, R&D costs etc).

You will not find this information. Anything posted here or anywhere else is merely speculation.

Aw, that's what I was afraid of. My fiance said the same thing, but I was so sure I'd be able to find actual numbers *somewhere* online... I gues I was wrong.

 

[imported_Tomato]

Originally posted by: vegetation

Originally posted by: FoBoT
isn't labor cost like 50-75% of the costs due to the labor unions?

There was an article not long ago stating how GM averages out $1500 per vehicle just to pay for retired union worker's health insurance plan.

Yeah, I heard that on NPR sometime ago. Crazy.

 

[BullyCanadian]

ok I remember reading this (I cannot quote this info, it was read by me maybe 2 years ago) that every car (brand new) sold gets atleast $2000 (atleast) to the dealership

 

[Thegonagle]

Originally posted by: MasterAndCommander
$50. I think I remember it from an episode of the "Simpsons".

The quote was, IIRC, "Do you know what these things cost me? There's like forty bucks worth of steel in there," voiced by Danny DiVito.

And it was a complete lie--listen to the DVD commentary track.

 

[ValValline]

I used to work for Lexus and heard the following from a factory rep back in 1997:

"It cost the same in materials, time, and labor to produce a Lexus LS400 and a Toyota Camry from start to finish on the assembly line."

Back then a fully loaded Camry cost @25K and the LS400 @$50K in USD.

I am sure a lot more goes into it than that, but I thought it was a pretty cool fact.

 

[Vic]

Manufacturer per unit profit is closely guarded information. What is known is that luxury cars and high-end SUVs are much more profitable than lower-end economy cars. The cheaper more fuel-efficient cars are frequently sold at a small loss so that the manufacturer can make federal CAFE standards, and then that loss is made up for with the high-margin high-end vehicles.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Tomato

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: Tomato

Originally posted by: radioouman
This is highly confidential information....

I can't seem to find it anywhere online.

So I figured I'd ask here.

That is not something any manufacturer will divuldge to the public. There are various costs that are factored into a product though including labor, materials and overhead (which is basically the costs to bring in the materials, store them, costs to administer the business including salaries of non-production employees, R&D costs etc).

You will not find this information. Anything posted here or anywhere else is merely speculation.

Aw, that's what I was afraid of. My fiance said the same thing, but I was so sure I'd be able to find actual numbers *somewhere* online... I gues I was wrong.

The only way you will find that information is to become a cost accountant and get a job working for Ford or GM at one of their corporate offices.

<--Does cost accounting for manufacturing company.

 

[eelw]

Well I know Honda didn't make a profit on my Civic Hybrid.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: eelw
Well I know Honda didn't make a profit on my Civic Hybrid.

Hybrids are very profitable for manufacturers. They can charge a premium over typical economy car costs and it bumps up their CAFE numbers considerably.

 

[imported_Tomato]

Originally posted by: ValValline
I used to work for Lexus and heard the following from a factory rep back in 1997:

"It cost the same in materials, time, and labor to produce a Lexus LS400 and a Toyota Camry from start to finish on the assembly line."

Back then a fully loaded Camry cost @25K and the LS400 @$50K in USD.

I am sure a lot more goes into it than that, but I thought it was a pretty cool fact.

:Q

 

[imported_Tomato]

Originally posted by: Vic
Manufacturer per unit profit is closely guarded information. What is known is that luxury cars and high-end SUVs are much more profitable than lower-end economy cars. The cheaper more fuel-efficient cars are frequently sold at a small loss so that the manufacturer can make federal CAFE standards, and then that loss is made up for with the high-margin high-end vehicles.

How interesting... guess my FI was right, it would be fascinating to learn the actual numbers.