Mitsubishi to Sell Dutch Vehicle Plant for 1 Euro

July 11, 2012
Mitsubishi's president had said he was willing to sell the plant for one euro if the new owner could guarantee workers would remain employed.

Mitsubishi Motors (IW 1000/221) said Wednesday that it would sell its sole European plant to a Dutch industrial group for one euro in a deal that calls on the buyer to keep 1,500 jobs at the facility.

Mitsubishi said it would sell Netherlands Car BV, or NedCar, to VDL Groep, which makes buses and a range of industrial products, for a token one euro ($1.20) in exchange for keeping the plant running. The announcement comes as new buyer VDL Groep confirmed they were in talks with BMW to produce Minis at the southern Dutch factory.

Mitsubishi had earlier this year announced plans to end production at the factory by the end of the year, blaming a difficult operating environment in the debt-hit continent. Mitsubishi said it expected to book a 28 billion yen ($353 million) loss on the plant to be included in its current fiscal year earnings through March 2013.

"We wanted to avoid a situation where the workers would lose their jobs after we cease production," a Mitsubishi spokesman said. Mitsubishi's president had said he was willing to sell the plant for one euro if the new owner could guarantee workers would remain employed.

Mitsubishi announced in February it was planning to halt production at the plant in Born by the end of this year. Soon afterwards, workers staged a one-day strike at the plant, located about 110 miles southeast of Amsterdam, with labor unions demanding that Mitsubishi work with the Dutch government to find a buyer.

Meanwhile in the Netherlands, VDL spokeswoman Carolien van der Leegte said  the group was finalizing agreements with both BMW and trade unions representing workers.

"We have put forward the intention to produce Minis at NedCar," Van der Leegte said, adding "we hope that BMW becomes our first client. We want to manufacture cars for them." She said inking the deal could still take several weeks or longer.

Van der Leegte confirmed there would be no job cuts at the plant and that workers would remain on pay roll as the factory is converted to other types of cars. Conversion could take up to two years, she said.

The Japanese carmaker produces the Colt subcompact and the Outlander sports utility models at the unit, which used to be a joint venture with Sweden's Volvo.

Output at NedCar, which was established in 1991, has remained sharply below its annual production capacity of 200,000 units, contributing to Mitsubishi's operating loss in Europe. Production was 40,739 units in 2011.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2012

Popular Sponsored Recommendations

Empowering the Modern Workforce: The Power of Connected Worker Technologies

March 1, 2024
Explore real-world strategies to boost worker safety, collaboration, training, and productivity in manufacturing. Emphasizing Industry 4.0, we'll discuss digitalization and automation...

3 Best Practices to Create a Product-Centric Competitive Advantage with PRO.FILE PLM

Jan. 25, 2024
Gain insight on best practices and strategies you need to accelerate engineering change management and reduce time to market. Register now for your opportunity to accelerate your...

How Manufacturers Can Optimize Operations with Weather Intelligence

Nov. 2, 2023
The bad news? Severe weather has emerged as one of the biggest threats to continuity and safety in manufacturing. The good news? The intelligence solutions that build weather ...

Transformative Capabilities for XaaS Models in Manufacturing

Feb. 14, 2024
The manufacturing sector is undergoing a pivotal shift toward "servitization," or enhancing product offerings with services and embracing a subscription model. This transition...

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of IndustryWeek, create an account today!