VDL NedCar
VDL Nedcar (abbreviation for Netherlands Car BV ) is an automobile manufacturing plant of the VDL Groep . Nedcar is the only large series automobile plant in the Netherlands ; it is located in Born in Limburg , which today belongs to the municipality of Sittard-Geleen . Nedcar has existed since August 1991. August 2017 there are over 6000 employees in this factory; this makes NedCar the largest company in the VDL group.
history
Company formation
In 1967, the Dutch vehicle manufacturer DAF had a new automobile factory built in Born, where the DAF 44 also rolled off the production line in 1967 .
Volvo
In 1972 Volvo took a 33% stake in this plant and increased its stake to 75% by 1975. The plant was also renamed Volvo Car BV in the same year ; the DAF 66 models from then on bore the Volvo logo and were also called Volvo 66 from then on , the DAF 46 kept its name.
The successor to the 66, which appeared as the Volvo 340 and 360 , was also almost completely developed by DAF. Volvo obtained the engines for its smallest model family from Renault , the Volvo 360 received, among other things, the Volvo B200 engine.
The successor to the 300 series - the 400 series ( 440 , 460 and 480 ) - was also produced in Born.
The cooperation
In the early 1990s, Volvo planned to close the increasingly unprofitable plant. The Dutch government helped find a cooperation partner as it would have been impossible for Volvo to keep the plant alone. With Mitsubishi Motors found a partner who was interested in the construction or operation of a European manufacturing plant.
The joint venture between Volvo, Mitsubishi and the Dutch state (33% each) was then decided in August 1991.
The first Dutch Mitsubishis
By 1995 the plant was heavily modernized based on the model of a Japanese Mitsubishi plant, so that the first Dutch Mitsubishis ( Carisma ) and the new Volvo S40 / V40 could be produced from the end of 1995 . From then on, the factory was officially called NedCar .
On February 15, 1999, the Dutch government sold its shares in Nedcar in equal parts to Volvo and Mitsubishi, which each owned 50%.
In 1999 the third model, the Mitsubishi Space Star , was presented, which was to be built by Nedcar.
On March 30, 2001, Volvo sold its 50% stake in Mitsubishi because the successor models of the S40 and V40 were to be built by Volvo in Ghent, Belgium, from 2004 onwards .
In 2002 Mitsubishi and Smart signed a contract that the four-seater Smart Forfour should be built by Nedcar. In 2003 the four millionth car, a Mitsubishi Space Star , was produced.
The new generation of small cars
In 2004 the last Volvo was built at Nedcar. Mitsubishi and Smart started producing their small car models Mitsubishi Colt and Smart Forfour .
In 2006, DaimlerChrysler announced that it would soon stop manufacturing the Smart Forfour. DaimlerChrysler paid Mitsubishi compensation in the three-digit million range and agreed social programs with the government in order to make the gradual reduction of jobs socially acceptable. About a third of the employees in Born were affected by this measure.
Mitsubishi SUV
The Mitsubishi Outlander , which has been sold in Europe since December 2006, was built between 2007 and 2012 at the Born plant. All versions of the Outlander intended for the European market rolled off the assembly line in Born (previously Nagoya plant, Japan). The SUVs delivered by Mitsubishi to PSA (Peugeot, Citroën) were not affected by this new regulation, but their production location was relocated within Japan.
Abandonment of production in Born and a new beginning
In 2012 Mitsubishi announced that it would give up production in Born. The Dutch VDL Groep bought the factory and completely renovated it. Negotiations with the BMW Group were successful and production of certain minis began on July 17, 2014. In 2017, production of the BMW X1 will also start .
Web links
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 51 ° 2 ′ 23 " N , 5 ° 50 ′ 13" E