CKD vs PAS vs FAS: Which Assembly Level Actually Costs You Less?

Every body builder who discovers modular kits asks the same question: do I buy the flat-packed CKD kit and assemble everything myself, the partially assembled (PAS) version, or the fully assembled body (FAS) ready to mount? The honest answer: it depends on what your workshop hours are worth — and the math is simpler than it looks. The three levels, defined CKD (Complete Knock-Down) arrives flat-packed: floor, panels, boards, subframe, every bolt and rivet, with full assembly documentation. Cheapest to buy, cheapest to ship — more kits per truck slot, which is why volume buyers love it — and engineered to be built within a single working shift: max 8 hours for a first build with two workers, considerably less once your team has done five. This is a deliberate design goal at Kit-Go, not a rough estimate. PAS (Partially Assembled) comes with the labour-intensive sub-assemblies — subframe, floor module, front wall — already built at our factory. You do final assembly and mounting: typically 3–4 hours for one or two fitters. Ideal when you want a fast turnaround without committing to full in-house assembly capacity. FAS (Fully Assembled) is a complete body built and finished in our facility. Your only job is mounting it on the chassis and wiring the electrics: 1–3 hours, one worker, one bay, done. You pay the most per unit and shipping is bulkier, but installation is near-instant. Total cost breakdown Level Clock time Workers Kit price Labour cost Total cost CKD ≤ 8 h (1 shift) 2 €3,000 €560 16 h × €35 €3,560 PAS 3–4 h 1–2 €5,560 €175 5 h × €35 €5,735 FAS 1–3 h 1 €5,690 €70 2 h × €35 €5,760 Example: 4.2 m curtain side body, 1–4 units, excl. VAT. Labour at €35/h fully-loaded workshop rate. CKD labour = 2 workers × 8 h (first build); repeat builds are significantly faster. The numbers make the case plainly: even with full first-build labour included, a CKD body costs ~€2,175 less per unit than PAS or FAS. That gap widens further with Kit-Go volume discounts (from 5 units) and the shipping advantage — CKD flat-packs stack 5–9 kits per truck slot versus 1 assembled body. The break-even logic The real decision criteria go beyond sticker price: Is fitting labour your bottleneck? If your fitters are fully booked, FAS effectively buys you capacity — at a premium of over €2,000 per body. Is shipping a large share of your cost? For 10+ units or export volumes, CKD logistics win decisively. Do you build volume of the same model? CKD assembly time drops fast with repetition — your fifth build will be well under 8 hours. One-offs or urgent jobs favour PAS or FAS. Cash flow: CKD means less capital tied up in work-in-progress per body. The rule of thumb One-off or urgent delivery: FAS. Steady monthly volume with available fitters: PAS is the sweet spot. Fleet deals, dealer stock, and export volumes of 10+: CKD — one shift per body, and the shipping savings alone more than pay for the assembly hours. Every Kit-Go product page shows all available assembly levels with live quantity pricing, body weight, and exactly what is pre-assembled at each level — so you can run this calculation against your own labour rate before you order. → Run your own numbers — or request a B2B quote from any product page