Vauxhall Manta RETURNING as an EV – not that there’s ever been a Vauxhall Manta

Vauxhall announces that the Manta will make a comeback by 2025 as an electric car as Vauxhall becomes all-electric by 2028.

Last year, we saw a very appealing Opel Manta GSe ElektroMOD by Opel/Vauxhall (pictured above), delivering modest power – just 145bhp – and with a modest range from its 31kWh battery.

It got a good reception so, no great surprise, Vauxhall has announced it’s going down the same path as Ford by resurrecting historical badges to deliver an electric Vauxhall Manta by mid-decade. Although whether it will be a retro design like the Manta GSe or something completely new we have no clue.

Of course, there has never actually been a Vauxhall Manta, with the original Manta sold in the UK as the Opel Manta, and the second generation Manta being sold here as the Vauxhall Cavalier. Perhaps a new, electric, Vauxhall Cavalier doesn’t resonate as well as a Vauxhall Manta? Vauxhall says:

By mid-decade, Vauxhall will reinvent the Manta as a purely electric car.  A Manta, befitting the times we live in – emissions-free, versatile and a car that will appeal to the heart and mind.   New Manta is set to be a fascinating and astoundingly spacious new interpretation of a classic.

It’s all part of Vauxhall’s drive to deliver only electric cars by 2028, offering cars with range between 310 miles and 497 miles and charging times as quick as 20 miles per minute.

That’ll come courtesy of Automotive Cells Company – a joint venture between Vauxhall-Opel, Stellantis, Mercedes and Total – with plans to turn its German base in to a battery Gigafactory to deliver high-performance batteries.