To remain competitive in times of unstable markets and shrinking sales, automotive manufacturers are under pressure to decrease the product development time. Especially, the time for planning of production steps and processes is strictly limited. The numerical simulation of production processes can help to get insight into the parts' behavior and properties and to evaluate the feasibility of the production steps. In this paper the role and application of the welding simulation for the production planning is discussed. The computed welding distortion can be taken into account before the forming tools are constructed and the first sheet parts are produced. Hence, many problems occurring during the assembly of welded parts can be identified and avoided and the number of prototypes can be reduced.

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