Artificial intelligence is the current hot button topic that makes the cataract-riddled pupils of wealthy shareholders turn into Tom and Jerry-style bulging dollar signs, but for a long time that same effect was caused by automation. Roles that once required in-depth training and certifications for fickle humans who take sick days, have babies, and are subject to labor laws could be replaced by specialized robots that require none of those pesky considerations. I’ve always understood the nature of automation, but I didn’t quite realize the scope of it until I watched the production process of the second-generation R56 Mini Cooper back-to-back with the third-gen F56 Mini Cooper at Mini’s Oxford manufacturing facility. Mini is now onto the F66 generation, which I think maintains the fun factor of the prior generations, but I couldn’t find a good video of its manufacturing process, so here I’m focused on the 2007-2013 R56 and 2014-2023 F56.
Beyond the fact that the entire manufacturing process is mesmerizing, I noticed that many more humans were involved in the assembly of R56 Mini Coopers than in the assembly of the newer F56. Early Minis were not known for their dependability or infallible build quality, and I’m not saying that automation is exactly why those metrics improved between these two generations, but it is an interesting variable to consider.
The process of building a car is very labor intensive
The R56 requires a human to operate a quality control robot, and perhaps most surprisingly, a human welded the roof to the frame before another human grinds down those welds to assure a flush appearance prior to painting. This process appears to be automated in the F56 assembly, and as a treat, you can see a first-gen R52 Mini Cooper cabriolet alongside the R56 on the line, since they were sold at the same time. Overall the R56 production video seems to offer a more in-depth look into the manufacturing process, but you can still see more human involvement was necessary than the F56 manufacturing process
In the video of F56 production, in contrast, humans are only required to transfer the finished hood stamps to a rack until the vehicle is already painted. Once the body shell is painted, a human briefly performs what appears to be a visual paint quality and thoroughness inspection, until the shells reach the interior assembly portion of production which is done by human hands.
I, perhaps ignorantly, assumed that the process of building a car required fewer steps than these videos illustrate. Granted, both of these videos were filmed over 10 years ago, so production has likely grown even quicker and more automated, but I was surprised by how many steps it takes to build a Mini.