Dutch King Willem-Alexander giving the ceremonial go-ahead for the MINI production on the occasion of the reopening of VDL Nedcar’s Born plant. Born/Munich. The new MINI Hatch, which celebrated its production start at the BMW Group’s plant in Oxford in November 2013, will also be built at contract manufacturer VDL Nedcar in Born/Netherlands from now on. Dutch King Willem-Alexander attended an official function on the occasion of the reopening of the plant in Born, giving the ceremonial go-ahead for the MINI production at VDL Nedcar that let the first vehicle roll off the assembly line. Further guests included the German Ambassador, Franz Josef Kremp; the Netherland’s Secretary of Economic Affairs, Henk Kamp; the CEO of VDL Groep, Wim van der Leegte; Dr. Andreas Wendt, Director of BMW Group Plant Regensburg – the partner plant of VDL Nedcar in Born; and Dr. Johann Wieland, Head of Indirect Purchasing, BMW Group. This move makes MINI the only automotive manufacturer that has series production vehicles built through a contract production in the Netherlands. The BMW Group stands to benefit from the favorable location of the VDL Nedcar site in terms of logistics and its proximity to the UK MINI production network with its locations in Oxford, Swindon and Hams Hall. At the same time, the BMW Group is stepping up its presence in the Netherlands significantly, making the region an integral part of the MINI success story. More at MINI start of production at contract manufacturer VDL Nedcar