Welding method

A welding method comprising welding an upper plate and a lower plate overlapped with the upper plate by irradiating a surface of the upper plate with a laser beam,

• the welding comprising:
• forming a main welding path that intersects a welding advancing direction and that comprises turning points;
• and
• forming an auxiliary welding path, which is continuous and comprises a reciprocating or circling path, prior to the forming the main welding path,
• the upper plate and the lower plate being arranged in an inclined manner with respect to a horizontal plane when viewed parallel to the welding advancing direction, and
• in the forming the main welding path, an amount of energy applied by the laser beam in an area in a neighborhood of at least one of the turning points on a vertically upper side being designed to be larger than an amount of energy applied by the laser beam in an area in a neighborhood of at least one of the turning points on a vertically lower side,
• wherein the main welding path comprises:
• an initial region continuous from the auxiliary welding path;
• and
• a subsequent region that is provided on a more forward side of the welding advancing direction than the initial region and that has a larger turnaround pitch along the welding advancing direction than the initial region.