First look at the Vinli manufacturing assembly in China
September 10, 2015
We have great news for you this week from our latest trip to the manufacturing plant in China, and the big story is: we’re even closer to shipping Vinli to our amazing members this Fall!
VINLI TEAM IN CHINA
As we explained in our last update, enhancements to our custom GPS antenna required us to change the case design, delaying production. To accelerate production, our team hopped on a plane to Dongguan, China where we met with the manufacturing team we selected to assemble and test Vinli. During this trip, we finalized details and produced a schedule around three phase builds: Engineering Prototype and Pilot Production I and II. Here are several photos and a video of our team at the plant:
ENGINEERING PROTOTYPE UNITS ASSEMBLED
The Engineering Prototype run consisted of 200 completed units. This batch of units went through an intensive testing process to identify any issues with the firmware and production test code. This is the first complete build by the engineering team using the same process that the Pilot Production units will undergo. The first 100 units in the Engineering Prototype phase have been completed and have already arrived in the USA. The other 100 units will stay in China for more reliability testing this week and next.
1,000 PRODUCTION PHASE UNITS IN QUEUE THIS MONTH!
The second and third phases of the build, the Pilot Production phases, are scheduled to begin the last week of September. We’re thrilled by this news, because it means we can anticipate shipping our first devices in October. The first build will ship out 1,000 units, with a build of 4,000 units to follow. It’s really happening!
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES
Vinli is the first OBD device to support connectivity in vehicles across the globe, and blazing a new trail always takes longer. We have been traveling and testing Vinli with international SIM’s in various countries, and negotiating with carriers around the globe to bring you great pricing on data service for Vinli in international markets. As we begin finalizing agreements with carriers in various regions, we will keep you updated. Thanks for your patience as we work to bring Vinli to every car in the world, including yours!
The road to the future starts here. Thank you for being part of it and for your incredible support along the way.