PURPOSE: To quickly accurately couple panels with each other in a car body construction by coupling a pair of panels to be coupled aligned with each other and tacking tooling tabs with each other to cut off the panel from the tooling tab at cut-off portions after coupling.

CONSTITUTION: Holes 4b in respective tooling tabs 4 of an outer panel 2 are inserted respectively onto locating pins 10 projecting from a carrier bed 6b of a locator 6 and then holes 5b in respective tooling tabs 5 of an inner panel 3 are respectively inserted onto said pins to be sandwiched fixedly between holding members 7 by the operation of an air cylinder 9. Next, the mating surfaces 2a, 3a of both panels 2, 3 are sequentially spot welded and the air cylinder 9 is returned back to remove a welded body portion 1 from the locator 6. After the body portion 1 is assembled into a car body and completely welded, the tooling tabs 4, 5 are cut off at cutting-off portions 4c, 5c by a scissor cutter attached to a robot. Thus, the panels can be rapidly accurately coupled with each other.