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VDL Nedcar

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VDL Nedcar is an automotive manufacturing company in Born, Netherlands. Since December 2012 it has been owned by the Dutch industrial conglomerate VDL Groep. Previous owners were Mitsubishi Motors and Volvo Cars. The company had its origins in a DAF car factory which opened in 1968. VDL Nedcar is the largest automotive factory in the Netherlands, with a production capacity of 240,000 vehicles a year.[6] It produced about 120,000 cars in 2020.[3] It is also the only manufacturer of production vehicles in the Netherlands. VDL Nedcar produced its millionth vehicle, a Mitsubishi Space Star, on 4 October 2000. VDL Nedcar currently is closed, because the contract with BMW Group is not been renewed.

VDL Nedcar B.V.
Company typeBesloten vennootschap
IndustryAutomotive
PredecessorDAF Car B.V. (1968–1975)
Volvo Car B.V. (1975–1992)
NedCar B.V. (1992–2012)
Founded1967
Headquarters
Born
,
Netherlands
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Willem van der Leegte
(Chairman VDL Groep B.V.)[1]

Paul van Vroonhoven
(Managing director)[2]

John van Soerland
(CEO VDL Nedcar B.V.)[citation needed]
ProductsAutomobiles
List
Production output
Decrease 125,666 vehicles (2020)[3]
RevenueDecrease €2,3 billion (2017)[4][needs update][dead link‍][clarification needed]
OwnerVDL Groep B.V.
Number of employees
Decrease 4,951 (2019)[5]
Websitewww.vdlnedcar.nl

Location

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VDL Nedcar in Born is located in Limburg, a province in the south of the Netherlands. VDL Nedcar has direct access to the ports of Rotterdam, Zeebrugge, Antwerp and Hamburg. Nearby is an inland barge terminal and a rail terminal, supported by airports such as Maastricht/Aachen, Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Brussels, Cologne and Düsseldorf.

Area development and expansion of VDL Nedcar

 
VDL Nedcar Factory in Born, the Netherlands

In 2019, VDL Nedcar and the province of Limburg signed an agreement on the sale of land around the factory, increasing the total site to about 1,500,000 square meters. Permits are expected to be granted in late 2021 for another expansion of 59 hectares, allowing up to 400,000 vehicles a year to be produced.

History

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The factory was founded in 1967 by the former Van Doorne's Automobiel Fabriek (DAF), and continued after the takeover of its parent by Volvo in 1972–1975.[7] When financial difficulties threatened to close it down in the early 1990s the Dutch government stepped in to ensure its survival.[8]

A joint venture between the Dutch State, Volvo and Mitsubishi Motors began in August 1991, although it was 1996 before the name was officially changed from Volvo Car B.V. to Netherlands Car B.V. On 15 February 1999 the Dutch government sold its shares to its two partners, which then owned 50 percent each. Later, on 30 March 2001, Volvo sold its shares to Mitsubishi, which then owned 100 percent.[9] The plant's long-term survival was in question from 2001, when then Mitsubishi Motors Chief Operating Officer Rolf Eckrodt stated that its annual vehicle production capacity had to increase to 280,000 if it wished to remain economically viable.[10] The last Volvo automobiles were built in 2004.

 
NedCar produced the Smart Forfour from 2004 to 2006

Between 2004 and 2012 the Mitsubishi Colt[11] was built at Nedcar. The factory also produced the Colt's sister vehicle, the Smart Forfour, for DaimlerChrysler until production ceased in mid-2006. Industrial action was taken in 2005 in protest against the discontinuation of the Smart Forfour, although Mitsubishi confirmed its commitment to keeping the factory open as far as the end of the Colt's life cycle in 2009.[12] Since then, European market versions of the Mitsubishi Outlander have had their production transferred from Japan to the Netherlands from 2008,[13] while the Outlander-based Citroën C-Crosser and Peugeot 4007 were also planned to be assembled at Born for the European market,[14] but this was postponed indefinitely because of slow sales of these models.[15] Labour union FNV, NedCar COO Joost Goovaarts and the works council have said it is a step towards securing the future of the plant.[16] In 2012, Mitsubishi announced it would stop producing cars in the Netherlands.[17]

Dutch industrial group VDL acquired the factory in December 2012 and renamed it VDL Nedcar. VDL entered negotiations with BMW which resulted in the announcement that certain Mini models would be produced in the Limburg factory from 2014 onwards.[18] Since 2017, the BMW X1 (F48) has been produced at VDL Nedcar, which shares production with the BMW Group plant at Regensburg. In October 2020, VDL Nedcar announced that it would not receive a follow-up order for the Mini Countryman from BMW Group for the longer term, leaving it to search for another manufacturer to fill production capacity.[19]

In June 2021, U.S. EV startup Canoo announced it would use VDL for its first run of the Lifestyle Vehicle starting in 2022, an interim measure as it builds its Oklahoma factory.[20][21][22] Member of parliament Silvio Erkens of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) suggested in 2024 that the site could be used to produce defense materiel, when the Netherlands expanded its defense budget following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Ministry of Defence later disclosed it was talking with VDL.[23]

Production

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After the cessation of Mitsubishi manufacturing in 2012, production restarted in 2014 with the new Mini Hatch model.[24]

Final production

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The last cars produced by VDL Nedcar are

  • Mini Hatch 3-door (2014–2024)[25]
  • Mini Convertible (2015–2024), the only plant that assembled the Mini Convertible[26]

On February 16, 2024, the last car, a silver-grey Mini convertible, ran off the production line, two weeks prior to the end of BMW's contract. It is uncertain if car production will ever commence again.[27]

Past models and production years

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Volvo 480

Annual output

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Year Units Models
1992 94,019 Volvo 440/460, Volvo 480
1993 80,246 Volvo 440/460, Volvo 480
1994 92,044 Volvo 440/460, Volvo 480
1995 98,454 Volvo 440/460, Volvo 480, Volvo S40/V40, Mitsubishi Carisma
1996 145,090 Volvo 440/460, Volvo S40/V40, Mitsubishi Carisma
1997 197,225 Volvo S40/V40, Mitsubishi Carisma
1998 242,804 Volvo S40/V40, Mitsubishi Carisma, Mitsubishi Space Star
1999 262,196 Volvo S40/V40, Mitsubishi Carisma, Mitsubishi Space Star
2000 214,974 Volvo S40/V40, Mitsubishi Carisma, Mitsubishi Space Star
2001 189,188 Volvo S40/V40, Mitsubishi Carisma, Mitsubishi Space Star
2002 182,368 Volvo S40/V40, Mitsubishi Carisma, Mitsubishi Space Star
2003 163,130 Volvo S40/V40, Mitsubishi Carisma, Mitsubishi Space Star
2004 187,600 Volvo S40/V40, Mitsubishi Carisma, Mitsubishi Colt, Mitsubishi Space Star, Smart Forfour
2005 115,079 Mitsubishi Colt, Mitsubishi Space Star, Smart Forfour
2006 87,332 Mitsubishi Colt, Smart Forfour
2007 61,912 Mitsubishi Colt
2008 59,223 Mitsubishi Colt, Mitsubishi Outlander
2009 50,620[30] Mitsubishi Colt, Mitsubishi Outlander
2010 48,025 Mitsubishi Colt, Mitsubishi Outlander
2011 40,772[31] Mitsubishi Colt, Mitsubishi Outlander
2012 24,895[32] Mitsubishi Colt, Mitsubishi Outlander
2013 0[32]
2014 29,196[32] MINI Hatch 3-door (assembly contract BMW)
2015 57,019 [33] MINI Hatch 3-door and Convertible (assembly contract BMW)
2016 87,609 [34] MINI Hatch 3-door, MINI Convertible and MINI Countryman (assembly contract BMW)
2017 168,969 [35] BMW X1, MINI Hatch 3-door, Convertible, Countryman, and Countryman Hybrid (assembly contract BMW)

In 2011, the Nedcar factory produced 4.3% of the global output of Mitsubishi. However, vehicle assembly for Mitsubishi came to an end during 2012.[36]

NedCar Access

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NedCar displayed the Access concept car at the 1996 Geneva Motor Show to demonstrate the company's product design and engineering capabilities. It was a 5-door hatchback, 4.25 m (13.9 ft) long and fitted with a four-cylinder petrol engine. It was constructed with a mix of aluminium and plastics.

References

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  1. ^ "About VDL". VDL Groep. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Annual financial report VDL Groep" (PDF). VDL Groep. 4 June 2020. p. 68. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b "BMW Group Report 2020" (PDF). BMW Group. March 2021. p. 94. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Annual Report 2017" (PDF). VDL Groep. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  5. ^ "Annual financial report VDL Groep" (PDF). VDL Groep. 4 June 2020. p. 16. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Annual financial report VDL Groep" (PDF). VDL Groep. 4 June 2020. p. 73. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  7. ^ "Home".
  8. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ "Netherlands Car B.V. to become MMC subsidiary after acquisition of additional shares" Archived 2014-02-01 at the Wayback Machine, Mitsubishi Motors press release, 4 April 2001
  10. ^ "NedCar production target", Meuse-Rhine Journal, 22 September 2001
  11. ^ "Mitsubishi Motors to Unveil New European Colt at Geneva Motor Show", Mitsubishi Motors press release, 26 January 2004
  12. ^ "Strike at Mitsubishi factory", 4Car, 21 April 2006
  13. ^ "Mitsubishi Motors transfers Outlander production for Europe", Mitsubishi Motors press release, 18 September 2007
  14. ^ "Mitsubishi Motors transfers production of SUV for PSA Peugeot Citroën", Mitsubishi Motors press release, 27 March 2008
  15. ^ "What next for Mitsubishi's NedCar and Normal plants?". Automotive World. 21 October 2010. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  16. ^ "SUV redt Nedcar voor een paar jaar". Frits Baltesen, NRC Handelsblad, 18 September 2007
  17. ^ "Notice regarding conclusion of a principal agreement on share transfer of the European subsidiary production site" (PDF). Mitsubishi Motors. 11 July 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  18. ^ "Nedcar rescue deal finalised". dutchnews. October 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  19. ^ "VDL Nedcar: no new follow-up order for MINI Countryman". VDL Nedcar. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  20. ^ GmbH, finanzen net. "Canoo Names VDL Nedcar as Contract Manufacturing Partner". markets.businessinsider.com. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  21. ^ O'Kane, Sean (17 June 2021). "Canoo will build its electric vehicles at a new Oklahoma factory". The Verge. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  22. ^ Estrada, Zac (17 June 2021). "Canoo Will Build Its New Electric Vehicles At Two Plants In 2022". dot.LA. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  23. ^ De Horde, Cor (26 May 2024). "VVD wil Nedcar-terrein bestemmen voor defensiebedrijven" [VVD wants to repurpose Nedcar premises for defense companies]. Het Financieele Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  24. ^ "Official start to Mini production in the Netherlands". Automotive Logistics. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  25. ^ "Mini voor Amerika ook uit Nederland". 13 March 2014.
  26. ^ "VDL Nedcar gaat de nieuwe Mini Cabrio maken". 23 October 2015.
  27. ^ "Last MINI rolls of VDL Nedcar production lines in Born". 16 February 2024.
  28. ^ "BMW Group confirms additional production of BMW X1 at VDL Nedcar". www.press.bmwgroup.com. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  29. ^ "Klap voor VDL Nedcar! BMW stopt Nederlandse productie - AutoReview.nl". Auto Review (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  30. ^ "What Next For Mitsubishi's NedCar And Normal Plants?". Automotive World. 21 October 2010. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
  31. ^ "Kengetallen / Key figures .... Productievolume (stuks) / Production volume (units)" (PDF). Financieel jaarverslag - Annual report 2012. VDL Nedcar (previously Netherlands Car B.V. – NedCar for short –). 24 May 2013. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  32. ^ a b c "KEY FIGURES ... Production volume (units)" (PDF). ANNUAL REPORT 2015. VDL Nedcar B.V. (VDL Nedcar). 18 April 2016. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  33. ^ "REPORT OF THE MANAGEMENT BOARD ... Products and production volume" (PDF). ANNUAL REPORT 2015. VDL Nedcar B.V. (VDL Nedcar). 18 April 2016. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  34. ^ "Products and production volume, Page 9" (PDF). VDL Annual Report 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  35. ^ "Products and production volume, Page 14" (PDF). VDL Annual Report 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  36. ^ "PROFILE OF VDL NEDCAR" (PDF). ANNUAL REPORT 2015. VDL Nedcar B.V. (VDL Nedcar). 18 April 2016. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
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