For 60 years, Vauxhall cars and vans have been manufactured at the Ellesmere Port vehicle plant in northwest England. The plant began manufacturing in June 1964 with the Vauxhall Viva and continues today, producing the Vauxhall Combo Electric compact van alongside its Stellantis siblings, adorned with other brand badges.
Work began on the plant in 1962 before it finally began producing cars two years later. After the Viva, it became the home of the Vauxhall Chevette and seven generations of the highly successful Vauxhall Astra, producing over five million cars.
Over the last five decades, the Ellesmere Port plant has undergone significant change, with the addition of a battery assembly shop, the relocation of the bodyshop, and an upgrade of the General Assembly area. The result has been a 60% reduction in the site's total area compared to the original plant, which now occupies 118,000m2.
Keith Tabiner, one of the production line workers who saw the very first Vauxhall Viva roll out in 1964, was on-site for the 60th-anniversary celebrations. The profession has stayed in the family, with his three sons, Mark, Phil, and Mike, all currently working at Ellesmere Port. This gives the family a combined total of 152 years of employment within its walls so far.
Brand owners Stellantis have invested £100 million in the Ellesmere Port factory, making it an EV-only volume manufacturing plant — a first within the UK. In addition to the Vauxhall Combo Electric van, the plant produces the Fiat e-Doblo, Citroen e-Berlingo, and Peugeot e-Partner.
Vauxhall’s Luton-based plant will produce the medium-sized electric van range for Peugeot, Fiat, Citroen, and Vauxhall in 2025 — 120 years after the first vehicle rolled off its production line.
Diane Miller, Ellesmere Port plant director: “We are excited to mark such an impressive milestone, celebrating production that began sixty years ago with the Viva, and now continues into the future with electric vans from Fiat, Citroën, Peugeot, Opel and Vauxhall. For six decades, Ellesmere Port has been a central pillar of the local area, and whose people have continually taken great pride in their work at the plant to provide millions of vehicles for the UK and beyond, and now continue to do so in the transition to a more sustainable future.”
Maria Grazia Davino, group managing director at Stellantis UK: “It is gratifying to celebrate six decades of vehicle production at Ellesmere Port, which continues to produce the latest generation of electric vans. Stellantis is the only OEM producing vans, including electric vans, in volume in the UK, and I would like to share my congratulations to the employees at the plant, who continue to work incredibly hard to produce the vehicles that will help to electrify businesses across the UK and in the more than 20 countries to which we export electric vans.”
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