VDL Nedcar

VDL Nedcar is an automotive manufacturing company based in Born, Netherlands. Since December 2012 it is owned by the Dutch coach manufacturer VDL Groep. Previously it was owned by Mitsubishi Motors and Volvo, and has its origins as a DAF factory, being officially inaugurated in June 1968.

It is the only large-scale car manufacturer in the Netherlands, with a 927,000 sqm site, and a production capacity of approximately 200,000 vehicles per year. Nedcar produced its millionth vehicle, a Mitsubishi Space Star, on October 4, 2000. The factory itself has produced more than 4.5 million cars since 1967.

History

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. When financial difficulties threatened to close it down in the early 1990s the government stepped in to ensure its survival.

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 February 15, 1999 the Dutch government sold its shares to its two partners, which then owned 50 percent each. Later, on March 30, 2001, Volvo sold its shares to Mitsubishi, which then owned 100 percent. 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. The last Volvo automobiles were built in 2004.