The future of the Vauxhall production facility at Ellesmere Port in Cheshire has been secured thanks to a £100m investment from parent company Stellantis.
The deal was secured in part thanks to investment from the UK government, with the plant’s future to include a refit to allow the production of electric vans and vehicles.
The Stellantis Group have a wide range of electric vans in the pipeline with the Vauxhall Combo-e, Peugeot e-Partner, and Citroen e-Berlingo all planned for production in some part at Ellesmere Port, with the production lines likely to see results by the end of 2022.
The global pandemic has been a huge spike in the use of light commercial vehicles, of which Stellantis is the market leader in Europe and it is expected that Ellesmere Port will play a huge role in that boom.
“Performance is always the trigger for sustainability and this £100 million investment demonstrates our commitment to the UK and to Ellesmere Port,” said Stellantis CEO, Carlos Tavares, the man thought to have driven the deal.
“Producing battery electric vehicles here will support clean, safe and affordable mobility for the citizens. Since 1903 Vauxhall has manufactured vehicles in Britain and we will continue to do so.”
The future of the Ellesmere Port site had been under a cloud since Stellantis took over Vauxhall but the government is now celebrating a second major motoring coup in a week following the announcement of the Nissan gigafactory last week.
“Ellesmere Port’s proud tradition in auto manufacturing will continue for many years to come thanks to today’s investment,” said Kwasi Kwarteng, the secretary of state for business.
“Stellantis’ decision to double down on their commitment to this site is a clear vote of confidence in the UK as one of the best locations globally for competitive, high-quality automotive production.
“Today’s decision will not only power Ellesmere Port into a clean future, but will secure thousands of jobs across the region in the supply chain.
“In this global race to secure electric vehicle production, we are proud to support Britain’s auto sector in this crucial transition as we work to build back better.”