How do you calculate good-vehicle capacity?

Multiply output per cycle by available cycles to get gross capacity, then multiply by uptime % and first-pass yield %. With 12 vehicles/cycle over 85 cycles at 88% uptime and 96% yield you get 862 good vehicles.

What is the difference between gross and good capacity?

Gross scheduled capacity (1,020 vehicles here) is what you'd build if nothing went wrong. Good capacity (862) is what actually ships after 122 units lost to downtime and 36 lost to defects.

What is a good first-pass yield for bike assembly?

Mature bicycle assembly lines often run 95-98% first-pass yield; e-bike lines with electronics and battery integration may sit lower at 90-95% because there are more ways to fail final test.

Should I fix uptime or yield first?

Compare the two loss figures. In the example, downtime costs 122 vehicles versus 36 to defects, so chasing station availability returns more units than chasing quality here.

What counts as a production cycle?

A cycle is whatever repeatable scheduling unit you build to — a shift, a takt window, or a batch. Keep output-per-cycle and available-cycles on the same definition.

Why is good capacity lower than the two losses suggest?

Because losses compound multiplicatively, not additively. Yield is applied to output that already survived downtime, so the defect loss is taken from a smaller base than the gross figure.

Bicycles, E-Bikes & Micromobility calculator

Vehicle Capacity Gap Calculator

Vehicle Capacity Gap shows the difference between the bikes or e-bikes your line is scheduled to build and the number that actually ship as good units after downtime and defects bleed it away. Production planners and line managers in micromobility manufacturing use it to set honest commit dates instead of quoting gross theoretical output. It separates losses caused by stoppages from losses caused by quality so you know whether to chase machine availability or assembly defects. The result is the real throughput number your sales and planning teams should be promising.

What this calculator does

Estimate good bicycle, e-bike, or scooter output capacity from station output, available production cycles, uptime, and first-pass yield.
a micromobility production team needs to check whether available capacity can cover forecasted vehicle demand
It computes good-vehicle capacity by discounting gross scheduled output by station uptime and first-pass yield, and breaks out the units lost to each.

Formula used

Gross scheduled vehicle capacity = vehicles completed per cycle × available production cycles
Good vehicle capacity = gross scheduled vehicle capacity × production station uptime × vehicle first-pass yield

Inputs explained

Vehicles completed per cycle:
Available production cycles:
Assembly station uptime:
Vehicle first-pass yield:

How to use the result

Use it when committing build volumes, sizing a line for a new model, or diagnosing whether a shortfall is a downtime or a quality problem.
It uses single average uptime and yield figures, so a line with a few unstable stations may behave worse than the blended numbers suggest.

Current U.S. benchmarks

Steel mill PPI stands at 348.53 (BLS, May 2026), up 6.7% from a year earlier. New factory orders are up 2.3% year over year (Census).

Common questions

How do you calculate good-vehicle capacity? Multiply output per cycle by available cycles to get gross capacity, then multiply by uptime % and first-pass yield %. With 12 vehicles/cycle over 85 cycles at 88% uptime and 96% yield you get 862 good vehicles.
What is the difference between gross and good capacity? Gross scheduled capacity (1,020 vehicles here) is what you'd build if nothing went wrong. Good capacity (862) is what actually ships after 122 units lost to downtime and 36 lost to defects.
What is a good first-pass yield for bike assembly? Mature bicycle assembly lines often run 95-98% first-pass yield; e-bike lines with electronics and battery integration may sit lower at 90-95% because there are more ways to fail final test.
Should I fix uptime or yield first? Compare the two loss figures. In the example, downtime costs 122 vehicles versus 36 to defects, so chasing station availability returns more units than chasing quality here.
What counts as a production cycle? A cycle is whatever repeatable scheduling unit you build to — a shift, a takt window, or a batch. Keep output-per-cycle and available-cycles on the same definition.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.