VDL Nedcar was jumping for joy. After BMW announced that it would leave the Dutch car factory in 2023, it had found a new customer in the American Canoo. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem certain that Canoos actually roll off the production line in Born.
In 2020, VDL Nedcar was dealt a major blow when it heard that no more BMWs X1 and Minis would be built from the end of 2023. The wounds healed somewhat in the middle of this year when VDL Nedcar found a new client in Canoo in the United States. The first copies of Canoo’s Lifestyle Vehicle would roll off the production line in Limburg at the end of this year. In 2023, the annual production should be 15,000 units. Canoo promised to have its electric models built by VDL Nedcar until at least 2028, but that is now all in doubt.
De Limburger and the Eindhovens Dagblad, among others, report that Canoo prefers to produce its cars in a factory in its home country, the United States. Canoo CEO Tony Aquila indicated during the presentation of financial figures that having your own factory entails fewer risks and that full control is not possible over a ‘contract manufacturer’. “I also said that VDL Nedcar would be a kind of backup until we have everything in order in the United States. Nedcar would mainly be used for European expansion,” said the CEO. Canoo mentions, among other things, the major cyber attack that briefly paralyzed VDL Nedcar in October this year as a risk factor. Canoo warns that it will look for an alternative to VDL Nedcar if the company cannot meet Canoo’s production requirements.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl