In relative terms, VDL Nedcar has had a good six months. Turnover increased and the car factory won a new client before the end of 2022, but in the meantime people in Born are also struggling with the negative consequences of the chip shortage.
VDL Nedcar’s turnover in the first half of 2021 amounted to more than €1.1 billion, compared to €903 million a year earlier in the same period. That means sales rose by just under 25 percent. This increase is mainly due to the fact that the factory was shut down for weeks in 2020 because the demand for cars collapsed due to the corona crisis. In 2021, VDL Nedcar will thus once again benefit from the increased demand for cars, but the factory will struggle with the consequences of another problem: the worldwide chip shortage. As a result, the factory was forced to shut down for several periods.
President-director Willem van der Leegte says that the recovery ‘gives confidence’, but sees, among other things, the chip shortage as a major challenge for his VDL Groep, of which VDL Nedcar is a part. He states that the current circumstances “require extra helmsmanship from our companies”.
VDL Nedcar is currently building the BMW X1 and the Mini Countryman in Born, among others. That collaboration will come to an end in 2023. VDL Nedcar has found a new client in the American start-up Canoo, but is also looking for additional clients to limit the business risk. The goal is to have a mix of start-ups and established parties as customers. The car factory does not name who else VDL Nedcar is in talks with.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl