VDL Nedcar will not receive a follow-up order for the new Mini Countryman from BMW Group for the longer term.
Due to the corona pandemic and disruptive developments, BMW has decided to produce the successor model of the current Mini Countryman in-house. The VDL plant will continue to make other Mini variants and the BMW X1.
Go deeper with GlobalData
VDL Nedcar said that ‘quality, delivery reliability and competitiveness were not the basis for the decision’.
VDL Nedcar President & CEO Willem van der Leegte said: “This decision is a disappointment for us and our employees at VDL Nedcar who work with great dedication on building fantastic cars. We have done everything in our power to tie BMW to us with a new follow-up order. Due to the spirit of times, this competition was unfortunately not to be won now. In order to ensure long-term employment in Born, we will intensify the search for the filling in of the free production capacity”.
VDL Nedcar in Born is the only passenger car factory in the Netherlands where large-scale third-party assembly takes place. At present the company has around 4,600 employees, as compared to the 1,500 when VDL Group took over the company at the end of 2012. The factory has capacity for the production of over 200,000 cars per year, when operating in two shifts. VDL Nedcar, with over 330,000 m² of factory space, utilizes a highly automated production process (approximately 1,300 industrial robots). Since it opened in 1967 more than 5.5 million cars (DAF, Volvo, Smart, Mitsubishi, Mini) have been produced in Born.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalData
