The owner of the iconic Vauxhall car plant at Luton has announced it is to close and move its EV building operations to Ellesmere Port in Merseyside with the potential loss of 1,100 jobs.
Stellantis, which also owns brands including Citroen, Peugeot and Fiat, said it would consolidate it’s EV van production at Ellesmere Port partly due to pressures of the government’s ZEV mandate.
The zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate sets out the percentage of new zero emission cars and vans, manufacturers will be required to produce each year up to 2030. For 2024 the figure should be 22% but most manufacturers have failed to get anywhere near that.
In a statement mentioning ZEV, Stellantis said it made sense to consolidate at its northern base and close Luton.
“The proposal, made within the context of the UK’s ZEV Mandate, will potentially contribute to greater production efficiency, including additional production of the medium-sized K0* battery electric LCV and support the Company’s ambition to become the No. 1 LCV manufacturer globally.
“In 2021, Stellantis invested £100 million in Ellesmere Port to transform the facility to battery-electric LCV production, making it the first battery electric vehicle-dedicated plant globally for Stellantis.
“Whilst strengthening Ellesmere Port as its sustainable LCV hub in the UK with the transfer of Luton operations, Stellantis remains committed to acting responsibly toward its employees in Luton and, if the Company proposal is approved, will offer relocation support to facilitate employees wishing to transfer to the Ellesmere Port site with an attractive package, where hundreds of permanent jobs will be created.”
In response a Unite union spokesperson said: “The proposal that has been tabled today has been a complete slap in face for our members in Luton, where Vauxhall vehicles have been manufactured for 120 years. Whatever the positive benefits this plan may have for Ellesmere Port, that is not acceptable.
“We stand ready to support our members in doing whatever we can to ensure that historical vehicle manufacturing is maintained in Luton and we call on the government to do the same.”
The government is now under serious pressure to either row back on its ZEV targets or encourage more EV take up.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds was making a speech to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) when the news broke and said he was “profoundly concerned” about how ZEV was working and would consult on “a better way forward” while still keeping the target.
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