VDL Nedcar to produce the new MINI Countryman
VDL Groep, as well as the BMW Group, today announced that VDL Nedcar is to start making a third model for BMW Group in addition to the MINI 3-door and the MINI Convertible. VDL Nedcar will produce the main production volumes of the MINI Countryman. In the future a hybrid version of this model will also be built in Born.
Following the start of production of the MINI 3-door in mid-2014 and the MINI Cabrio at the end of 2015, the MINI Countryman is also to be built for BMW Group, starting next week. This means that some MINI Countrymans will come off the line in Born as early as this year. In the future a hybrid version will be available which will also be made in Limburg an. This is the first time a hybrid car will be made in VDL Nedcar.
VDL Nedcar is proud that a third model has been allocated to it. In the company’s history this is the 22nd model to be introduced. Preparations for the production are proceeding on schedule. The arrival of the MINI Countryman entails additional jobs for around 1,200 new employees. As a result, VDL Nedcar will this year switch to a two-shift system. VDL has every confidence in the further cooperation with BMW Group.
VDL Nedcar
VDL Nedcar of Born is an independent car manufacturer that produces vehicles for third parties.
It is the only large car manufacturing plant in the Netherlands. At present the company has around 4,000 employees, as compared with the 1,500 it had when VDL Groep took over the company at the end of 2012. The factory has capacity for the production of up to 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 (1,200 industrial robots). Since it opened in 1967 more than 4.8 million cars (DAF, Volvo, Smart, Mitsubishi, MINI) have been built in Born.