NedCar

NedCar, officially Netherlands Car B.V. and a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Motors, is the only large-scale automaker in the Netherlands. Based in Born on a 927,000 m² site, it has a capacity of approximately 200,000 vehicles, and produced its millionth vehicle, a Mitsubishi Space Star, on October 4 2000 (although when it was a pure Volvo-factory it already produced 1 million Volvo 300-series). 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 1972–75. 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 now owns 100 percent. The last Volvo automobiles were built in 2004.

Production

Currently NedCar produces one vehicle, the Mitsubishi Colt, which has been built since 2004. It also produced the Colt's sister vehicle, the Smart Forfour, for DaimlerChrysler until production ceased in mid-2006. 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. Industrial action in 2005 protested the discontinuation of the Smart Forfour, although Mitsubishi confirmed its commitment to keeping the factory open as far as the end of the Colt's life cycle in 2009. Since then, European market versions of the Mitsubishi Outlander have had their production transferred from Japan to the Netherlands from 2008, while from 2009 the Outlander-based Citroen C-Crosser and Peugeot 4007 will also be manufactured at Born. Labour union FNV, NedCar COO Joost Goovaarts and the works council have said it is a step towards securing the future of the plant.

Current and future models

Historic models

DAF 33 (1967–72)
DAF 44 (1967–75)
DAF 55 (1968–72)
DAF 66 (1972–75)
DAF 46 (1975–76)
Volvo 66 (1975–81)
Volvo 340/360 (1976–91)
Volvo 480 (1986–95)
Volvo 440/460 (1987–97)
NedCar Access (prototype)
Volvo S40/V40 (1995–2004)
Mitsubishi Carisma (1995–2004)
Mitsubishi Space Star (1998–2005)
Smart Forfour (2004–06)

Annual output

Year	Units	Models
1992	94,019	Volvo 440/460, Volvo 480
1993	80,246	Volvo 440/460, Volvo 480
1994	92,044	Volvo 440/460, Volvo 480
1995	98,454	Volvo 440/460, Volvo 480, Volvo S40/V40, Mitsubishi Carisma
1996	145,090	Volvo 440/460, Volvo S40/V40, Mitsubishi Carisma
1997	197,225	Volvo 440/460, Volvo S40/V40, Mitsubishi Carisma
1998	242,804	Volvo S40/V40, Mitsubishi Carisma, Mitsubishi Space Star
1999	262,196	Volvo S40/V40, Mitsubishi Carisma, Mitsubishi Space Star
2000	214,974	Volvo S40/V40, Mitsubishi Carisma, Mitsubishi Space Star
2001	189,188	Volvo S40/V40, Mitsubishi Carisma, Mitsubishi Space Star
2002	182,368	Volvo S40/V40, Mitsubishi Carisma, Mitsubishi Space Star
2003	163,130	Volvo S40/V40, Mitsubishi Carisma, Mitsubishi Space Star
2004	187,600	Volvo S40/V40, Mitsubishi Carisma, Mitsubishi Colt, Mitsubishi Space Star, Smart Forfour
2005	115,121	Mitsubishi Colt, Mitsubishi Space Star, Smart Forfour
2006	c.87,000	Mitsubishi Colt/CZ3, Smart Forfour
2007	-	Mitsubishi Colt/CZ3
2008	-	Mitsubishi Colt/CZ3, Mitsubishi Outlander
2009	-	Mitsubishi Colt/CZ3, Mitsubishi Outlander, Citroen C-Crosser, Peugeot 4007