Stellantis Keeps UK Plant to Produce Electric Vehicles
Stellantis, which was created in January via the merger of French giant PSA and Italian carmaker Fiat, has been mulling the future of Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port plant on the northwest English coast, which employs more than 1,000 staff.
London -European carmaker Stellantis on Tuesday said it was keeping its Vauxhall plant in northern England, which will become the group’s first factory to produce a solely battery-electric vehicle.
It is pumping £100 million ($138 million, 117 million euros) into the facility, with help from the UK government, Stellantis announced in a statement.
Stellantis, which was created in January via the merger of French giant PSA and Italian carmaker Fiat, has been mulling the future of Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port plant on the northwest English coast, which employs more than 1,000 staff.
“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,” said UK Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng.
Stellantis became the world’s fourth biggest carmaker by volume after marrying PSA brands Peugeot and Citroen with Fiat, Chrysler, Jeep, Maserati and others.
Vauxhall, along with Opel, became part of PSA in 2017 after it purchased General Motors’ European subsidiary.
From next year, the Ellesmere Port plant will produce an electric van and car for each of the Citroen, Opel, Peugeot and Vauxhall brands for sale in the UK and abroad.
A separate Vauxhall factory in Luton, near London, is reportedly operating at full capacity to produce light commercial vehicles.
“Producing battery electric vehicles… (at Ellesmere) will support clean, safe and affordable mobility,” said Stellantis chief executive Carlos Tavares.
The company added that its “dedication to battery electric vehicles will go towards achieving the UK government’s decision to stop sales of pure petrol and diesel engined vehicles from 2030”.
Car manufacturers are rapidly shifting away from vehicles that run on petrol and diesel, as governments ramp up efforts to meet net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
“In this global race to secure electric vehicle production, we are proud to support Britain’s auto sector,” Kwarteng added.
Stellantis on Tuesday said it was looking at Ellesmere Port becoming carbon neutral by 2025.
Thanks also to UK government investment, Japanese carmaker Nissan last week unveiled plans to build a vast battery gigafactory in northeastern England, where it will also manufacture a new electric vehicle.
The battery plant, which will power up to 100,000 Nissan electric vehicles annually, is seen as key to its transition away from high-polluting fossil fuel vehicles.
Source: AFP
