Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors has agreed to sell the Nedcar plant in Born, Limburg to Dutch industrial group VDL for a token €1, according to media reports on Wednesday.

Mitsubishi said last year it was stopping production at the plant at the end of this year, giving rise to fears 1,500 jobs would be lost.
The Japanese firm said it had agreed a token price with the VDL group in exchange for keeping the plant running. ‘We wanted to avoid a situation where the workers would lose their jobs after we cease production,’ a Mitsubishi spokesman told news agency AFP.
Not yet signed
On Tuesday, BMW confirmed it would start producing its popular Mini cars at the Dutch plant.
Despite the reported Mitsubishi statement, a spokeswoman for VDL told the Telegraaf no actual agreement has yet been signed. ‘This is an agreement in principle,’ she said.
‘We are finalising the deal with BMW, but that deal has not been signed either,’ she said. ‘The same applies to the contract with the unions which will be voted on by Nedcar staff on Thursday.’
Henk van Rees of manufacturing union FNV Bondgenoten told news agency AFN the fact an agreement is close is ‘fantastic’.