Vauxhall owner Stellantis has called for the UK government to “stimulate more demand in the electric vehicle market” as it moves to make electric vans at its Luton factory.
Stellantis UK’s group managing director Maria Grazia Davino said that its most recent EV investment “demonstrates Stellantis’s confidence in the plant” but said that the UK government should “support manufacturers that invest in the UK for a sustainable transition”.
Positive news will be welcomed by the automotive industry, which has had to bounce back from a challenging time caused by computer chip shortages and looming Brexit trade restrictions.
Just last year Stellantis warned it could close UK factories if tariffs were imposed on UK-EU exports, but a belated agreement between Westminster and Brussels in December delayed the rules.
Stellantis has already begun production of electric vans at its other UK site at Ellesmere Port in Merseyside though the future of that plant hung in the balance before being saved by the decision to switch focus from passenger cars to commercial vans.
Now, Vauxhall’s Luton factory will follow suit in 2025, producing medium-sized electric vans including the Vauxhall Vivaro, Peugeot e-Expert, Citroën ë-Dispatch and Fiat E-Scudo, all of which are built to near-identical designs, but with sales focused on different countries.
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While the Luton plant can make 100,000 vehicles a year, in the past decade, its output has been between 60,000 and 78,000 vans a year.
Stellantis already produces electric versions of the Vauxhall Vivaro at its factory in Hordain, in northern France, but the company expects a growing demand for medium-sized electric vans in the future.
Other carmakers, including Honda and Ford, decided to close UK factories rather than invest in electric vehicle production, while some have recently announced plans to upscale EV activities.
In November 2023, Nissan revealed that it would invest heavily to build two new electric models in Sunderland, while in July last year, India’s Tata Sons – owner of the Jaguar and Land Rover brands –made plans to build a £4 billion battery factory in Somerset.
BMW also committed to spending £600m to upgrade its factory to build electric Mini cars in September.
