Since the establishment of Van Doorne's Automobielfabriek DAF N.V. on October 19, 1948, DAF had the intention to build motorized vehicles on the Geldropseweg in Eindhoven. On April 14, 1950, the new factory (internally called DAF ll) was officially opened. From that year trucks rolled off the assembly line in Eindhoven. In this factory, on the main road between Eindhoven and Geldrop, DAF's car production started in 1959 with the mass production of the Daf 600.

Cars were built in the truck and car factory in Eindhoven from 1959 to 1970. In that period, all models based on the A-body originated there; Daf 600, Daf 750, Daffodil (Daf 30-31-32), Daf 33. The Daf 44, the first model of the B-body, only rolled off the production line at DAF Eindhoven for the first 2 years.

On Friday 29 September 1967, DAF Eindhoven produced the last Daf 44, after which all production of this type was transferred to Born (see the information after this section). There are external differences that distinguish an 'Eindhoven 44' from a 'Born 44', this information can be found on the Daf 44 model page.

Production of the Daf 33 was still ongoing at that time. In March 1970 the last passenger car of this model came off the line in Eindhoven and from that moment on the production of passenger cars and commercial vehicles was completely separated; all Daf passenger cars now originated in the DAF factory in Born.
 

Overview and number of DAF models produced in Eindhoven

In the transition to the next section, from the DAF Eindhoven car factory to the DAF factory in Born, the production numbers per factory are shown here. This concerns the production numbers of cars developed by DAF, including the Volvo 343 (which should have become the Daf 77).

Because the production location in Eindhoven became too small due to the expansion of the model range with the Daf 44, it was moved to another factory. It was not so much the location that was too small in relation to the building land, but a constant shortage of workers in Eindhoven.

In order to maintain employment in Limburg after the closure of the state mines, DAF, in collaboration with the Dutch government, chose Born to build a new factory for passenger cars. Because the nearby Mauritsmijn closed, about 6000 miners were left on the street, who could work in the factory that was to be built.

The financing of the factory was made possible by the participation of DSM (the State Mines), which contributed 25%. As a result, a new N.V. (public limited company) was established: DAF-Cars N.V., which was a 100% subsidiary of the DAF group and was managed there. DAF-Cars N.V. carried out all activities in the field of passenger car production, both in Eindhoven and at the new Born location.

The plans for the factory, on a 100-hectare site in the municipality of Born and Nieuwstad, were made in 1965. The first pile was driven into the ground in July 1966 and the factory was completed a year later.

The first Dafs 44 were delivered from the end of June 1967; the parts of this new model (the so-called B-body, which also includes the later Daf 55 and Daf 66, in their different body styles, were taken on trucks from the factory in Eindhoven to the assembly line in Born to be processed there. Production increased steadily, with the 1000th DAF (44) coming off the line on August 11, 1967 from Born.

Daf 44 was taken over by the factory in Born and this model no longer came off the assembly line in Eindhoven. This was reflected in increasing production in Born: on October 4, 1967, number 5000 rolled off the band and on November 22, the ten thousandth.

On June 27, 1968, the car factory was officially and royally opened by Queen Juliana. From that year onwards, the model range of DAF passenger cars was complete with the addition of the Daf 55 coupe, with the following models and body variants coming off the production line at the Born production location:

Daf 44 Sedan
Daf 44 Station car / Van
Daf 55 Sedan
Daf 55 Station car / Van
Daf 55 Coupe

After the official opening, and with the addition of the Daf 55 coupe model to production, a new milestone was achieved in November 1968: the 50,000th DAF passenger car, a 1st type Daf 55 coupe, came off the assembly line in Born.

From 1970, the Daf 33, the last model based on the Daf 600 (the 'A-body'), was included in production in Born. This ended the production of Daf passenger cars in Eindhoven.

The growth in sales volume, partly due to interest in DAF cars from abroad (75% of the cars built in Born are exported), ensures that some 82,500 Daf passenger cars are built in 1971, and no fewer than 91,000 the following year. copies. From 1972 onwards, the Daf 66 was added to production, the successor to the Daf 55.

In 1972, Volvo takes a 33 percent share in the passenger car factory, which is renamed DAF-Car BV. 1973 is the last year of growth, almost 100,000 Variomatic driven Dafs roll off the production line.

Due to the oil crisis and rising fuel prices, car sales as a whole are stagnating, and that of DAF in particular. Sales fell from more than 26,000 cars in 1972 to 21,000 in 1975. To respond to the changing demand for more economical cars, DAF introduced the Daf 46, the last model to roll off the production line as DAF.

After Volvo takes over the entire passenger car division of DAF, the name of the factory is changed to Volvo Cars BV in 1976. No longer only Daf cars roll off the assembly line in Born, but also Volvos: first the Volvo 66 (1975-1980) which was a modified Daf 66, and later the Volvo 343 with Variomatic but then called CVT (from 1976 to 1991 as Volvo 340/360).

That brings the following list of models with DAF Variomatic and Volvo CVT that have rolled off the line in Born:

With the production stop of the Volvo 340 in 1991, the last example of which was equipped with the CVT, the production of Variomatics / Volvo CVTs came to an end according to Hub van Doorne's idea. But because it all started as a DAF passenger car factory, we want to include the rich history of mass-produced passenger cars in the Netherlands here for the sake of completeness.

The Volvo 440 is introduced in 1985 and produced from 1987: the Volvo 400 series (440, 460 and 480) which is a level higher than the 300 series developed by DAF. The 400 series was succeeded from 1995 by the Volvo S40/V40, which were produced in Born together with the Mitsubishi Carisma until 2004.

It was precisely during the follow-up of the 400 series that a partner had to be found with Volvo to increase production numbers for the factory, which was then still Volvo Cars B.V. is called. Volvo could purchase a maximum of 120,000 cars per year, which was insufficient to keep the factory profitable. After a partner was found in the Japanese car manufacturer Mitsubishi in 1991, the factory continued under the name NedCar, a joint venture of Volvo, Mitsubishi and the Dutch State.

In 1999, NedCar became an independent company when the Dutch State transferred its shares, but 2 years later Mitsubishi became the full owner when they bought out Volvo. NedCar built the S40 / V40 for Volvo in Born and the Carisma and Space Star models for Mitsubishi until 2004. Production of the Volvos in Born ceased in 2004, but the portfolio was expanded with the Smart ForFour (commissioned by DaimlerChrysler) which 2 year came off the line next to the Mitsubishi Colt. Both models are on the same platform/chassis. That characterizes NedCar: the factory can build various versions of different brands on the same production line if the chassis is the same, as was also the case with the combination S40 / V40 and Carisma.

After the production stop of the Smart Forfour in 2006, during the continuous production of the Mitsubishi Colt (on the same platform), production is expanded in 2008 with the Mitsubishi Outlander. Production of both models will end in 2012, and no more Mitsubishis will come off the line in Born. Mitsubishi sells its shares to VDL, and under the new name VDL NedCar different variants of the Mini will be produced in Born. From 2017 to 2022, BMW's X1 have also rolled off the production line in addition to the Mini.