The future of the Ellesmere Port factory in Vauxhall is secure, with owner Stellantis investing £ 100million to make it its first factory dedicated to producing electric vans.
From the end of next year, the longtime home of the Vauxhall Astra will switch to production of the Citroën e-Berlingo, Peugeot e-Partner and Vauxhall Combo-e commercial vans, as well as their transport MPV variants. of passengers.
The deal secured around 1,000 jobs at the site, which will benefit from a series of upgrades.
Notably, the pickup truck batteries will not be produced at Ellesmere Port, but shipped from other Stellantis factories overseas.
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The future of Ellesmere Harbor The factory had been in doubt for years and its situation was made even more uncertain recently by the UK government’s decision to ban the sale of all new ICE cars from 2030.
Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares, who has openly criticized the 2030 ban, said: “This £ 100million investment demonstrates our commitment to the UK and Ellesmere Port. I especially want to thank our highly skilled and dedicated workforce for their patience and contribution. We never let them down.
The £ 100million investment will include the establishment of a new body shop, modernization of the general assembly area and the establishment of an on-site battery assembly plant.
Stellantis said he will provide additional support to help make Ellesmere Harbor carbon neutral by the middle of the decade. It will also launch a consultation on the additional investment in the plant to create a new parts distribution center in the UK.
Stellantis said the UK government “backed” the investment, although it did not disclose what level of financial commitment it involved.
The British government recently confirmed an investment to increase production of electric cars and batteries at Nissan’s Sunderland plant.
Commercial secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “In this global race to secure the production of electric vehicles, we are proud to support the UK automotive sector in this crucial transition as we work to rebuild better.”
The Ellesmere plant opened in 1964 to produce the Vauxhall Viva compact car, and several generations of the Astra have been produced there since 1979.
From 1986 to 1994, the first generation Opel Combo / Vauxhall Astramax van, the precursor to the current Combo, was built there.
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Source: www.autocar.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-07-06 10:31:23
