Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port to build electric vans for Vauxhall, Opel, Peugeot and Citroen

Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port plant is to become the first Stellantis plant to build solely electric vans for Stellantis, including Opel, Peugeot and Citroen.

Following on from the news that Nissan is creating a huge EV centre in the North East, it’s the North West’s turn to get some good news: Stellantis announces the Vauxhall Plant at Ellesmere Port will become a centre solely building electric vans, and passenger versions, for Vauxhall as well as Opel, Peugeot and Citroen.

Stellantis is investing £100 million to turn Ellesmere Ports into the first Stellantis plant to produce only BEVs, and will be building both the LCV and passenger versions for the home market and for export.

The transformation at Ellesmere Port will see a new body shop, upgraded assembly and on-site battery pack assembly, with plans in the offing to create a new parts distribution centre too.

The Vauxhall Combo-e, Opel Combo-e, Peugeot e-Rifter and Citroen e-Berlingo (and their passenger equivalents) will all come with a 50kWh battery pack mated to the same 134bhp electric motor already found in cars like the Corsa-e and 174-mile range, with production due to start in 2022 – Ellesmere Port’s 60th anniversary.

Carlos Tavares, Stellantis CEO, said:

Performance is always the trigger for sustainability and this £100million investment demonstrates our commitment to the UK and to Ellesmere Port. I particularly want to thank our highly skilled, dedicated workforce for their patience and contribution; we never let them down.  Equally, I want to thank our partners the Unite Union for their open mind set and strong cooperation and, of course, the UK Government for their continued support.