VDL Nedcar: no new follow-up order for MINI Countryman

BMW emphatically states that VDL Nedcar's quality, delivery reliability and competitiveness were not the basis for the decision. For example, VDL Nedcar has recently won several awards, including for the third best car plant in Europe. In order to guarantee the continuity of employment, VDL Nedcar will be looking even more emphatically for the capacity that will become available as a result of this decision in due course. Because VDL Nedcar will continue to build the current models for BMW for at least the coming years, there is time to achieve a healthy and sustainable future for the car factory in Born.

Employment

President & CEO Willem van der Leegte of VDL Groep: "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

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 Groep 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.