VDL Nedcar B.V.

VDL Nedcar Factory at Born, Netherlands
Company type	Besloten vennootschap
Industry	Automotive
Predecessor	DAF Car B.V. (1968–1975) Volvo Car B.V. (1975–1992) NedCar B.V. (1992–2012)
Founded	1967
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]
Products	Automobiles List Mini Hatch (2014–2024) Mini Convertible (2015–2024) Mini Countryman (2016–2023) BMW X1 (F48) (2017–2022)
Production output	125,666 vehicles (2020)[3]
Revenue	€2,3 billion (2017)[4][needs update][dead link‍][clarification needed]
Owner	VDL Groep B.V.
Number of employees	4,951 (2019)[5]
Website	www.vdlnedcar.nl

VDL Nedcar is an automotive manufacturing company inBorn,Netherlands. Since December 2012 it has been owned by the Dutch industrial conglomerateVDL Groep. Previous owners wereMitsubishi Motors andVolvo Cars. The company had its origins in aDAF 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 ofproduction vehicles in the Netherlands. VDL Nedcar produced its millionth vehicle, aMitsubishi Space Star, on 4 October 2000. VDL Nedcar currently is closed, because the contract with BMW Group is not been renewed.

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VDL Nedcar in Born is located inLimburg, a province in the south of the Netherlands. VDL Nedcar has direct access to the ports ofRotterdam,Zeebrugge,Antwerp andHamburg. Nearby is an inland barge terminal and a rail terminal, supported by airports such asMaastricht/Aachen,Amsterdam,Eindhoven,Brussels,Cologne andDüsseldorf.

Area development and expansion of VDL Nedcar

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.

The factory was founded in 1967 by the formerVan 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 fromVolvo Car B.V. toNetherlands 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.

Between 2004 and 2012 theMitsubishi Colt^[11] was built at Nedcar. The factory also produced the Colt's sister vehicle, theSmart Forfour, forDaimlerChrysler 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 theMitsubishi Outlander have had their production transferred from Japan to the Netherlands from 2008,^[13] while the Outlander-basedCitroën C-Crosser andPeugeot 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 unionFNV, NedCarCOO Joost Goovaarts and theworks 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 groupVDL acquired the factory in December 2012 and renamed it VDL Nedcar. VDL entered negotiations withBMW which resulted in the announcement that certainMini models would be produced in the Limburg factory from 2014 onwards.^[18] Since 2017, theBMW X1 (F48) has been produced at VDL Nedcar, which shares production with the BMW Group plant atRegensburg. 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 startupCanoo 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 parliamentSilvio Erkens of thePeople's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) suggested in 2024 that the site could be used to producedefense materiel, when the Netherlands expanded its defense budget following theRussian invasion of Ukraine. TheMinistry of Defence later disclosed it was talking with VDL.^[23]

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

The last cars produced by VDL Nedcar are

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.^[25]

• DAF 33 (1967–1972)
• DAF 44 (1967–1975)
• DAF 55 (1968–1972)
• DAF 66 (1972–1975)
• DAF 46 (1975–1976)
• Volvo 66 (1975–1981)
• Volvo 340/360 (1976–1991)
• Volvo 480 (1986–1995)
• Volvo 440/460 (1987–1997)
• Volvo S40/V40 (1995–2004)
• Mitsubishi Carisma (1995–2004)
• Mitsubishi Space Star (1998–2005)
• Smart Forfour (2004–2006)
• Mitsubishi Colt (2004–2012)
• Mitsubishi Outlander (2008–2012)
• Mini Hatch 3-door (2014–2024)^[26]
• Mini Convertible (2015–2024), the only plant that assembled the Mini Convertible^[27]
• BMW X1 (F48) (2017–2022)^[28][29]
• Mini Countryman (2017–2023)

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 displayed the Access concept car at the 1996Geneva 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.

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• Companies based in Limburg (Netherlands)
• South Limburg (Netherlands)
• Buildings and structures in Sittard-Geleen
• Contract vehicle manufacturers
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