VAUXHALL OWNER THREATENS TO PULL PLUG ON UK PRODUCTION AMID ROW OVER EV SALES TARGETS

The owner of Vauxhall has warned it could stop making vehicles in the UK amid a row over electric vehicle sales targets.

Stellantis – one of the world’s biggest car makers – has threatened to close its plants in Ellesmere Port in Cheshire and Luton over government quotas for zero-emission vehicles. The company employs 2,500 staff across the two sites.

In a dramatic escalation of tensions between the manufacturer and ministers, Stellantis UK boss Maria Grazia Davino put the Government on notice, saying the decision will be made in ‘less than a year’.

It comes after the huge automotive group splashed £100million converting Vauxhall's 60-year-old car production factory into the nations first exclusive EV manufacturing site only last year. 

She also said Stellantis, which also owns Citroen and Peugeot, could slash the number of petrol and diesel motors it sells in the UK to meet the targets.

Under the Government’s mandate, manufacturers must sell an increasing proportion of electric vehicles each year or face hefty fines.

The sale of new petrol and diesel motors will be banned from 2035.

The Labour party has pledged to introduce the ban in 2030 and is likely to face urgent talks with car makers should it win the election on July 4 as expected.

Speaking at a car industry conference in London, Davino said: ‘We have undertaken big investments in Ellesmere Port and in Luton, with more to come.

‘But if this market becomes hostile to us, we will enter an evaluation for producing elsewhere.’

The company makes electric vans and MPVs in Ellesmere Port and recently outlined plans to make the vehicles at its Luton plant from next year.

Previously it urged ministers to do more to boost consumer demand for zero-emission cars. 

The concerns voiced by Stellantis were echoed in a warning from car dealership Vertu Motors that green targets could push up the price of second-hand petrol and diesel vehicles.

The company, which has 189 sales and aftersales sites, said the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate – which requires manufacturers to up its sales of EVs to 22 per cent in 2024 and a higher share every year until 2035 – ‘has the potential to create volatility in the new car market’.

It went on: ‘This may include reduced supply of new petrol and diesel cars in the coming periods and would lead to a strengthening of petrol and diesel used car values.’

Ford bosses have also recently said it could limit the number of petrol cars it makes available to UK customers in the coming years in a bid to increase its share of EV sales in order to hit the strict ZEV mandate thresholds. 

Manufacturers that fail to comply with the targets face fines of £15,000 for every non-ZEV car and £18,000 per non-ZEV van.

The mandate does include an allowance for manufacturers to sell non-ZEVs up to a given percentage of their fleet of new cars and vans, with the intention that ZEVs account for the remaining sales.

Any excess non-ZEV sales can be covered by purchasing allowances from other manufacturers, using allowances from past or future trading periods during the initial years of the policy, or offsetting with credits.

Extra credits are offered for vehicles deployed with car clubs, or those that are wheelchair accessible.

In April, Carlos Tavares, chief executive at Stellantis, said the UK's ZEV mandate could see Stellantis slash the number of cars it sells in Britain, even refusing to rule out halting sales of some models altogether.

But a source close to the company said the more likely option was that sales would be restricted or prices would rise to compensate.

The Ellesmere Port plant is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year.

For over 40 of these years it manufactured Vauxhall's popular Astra family car, but in 2023 it was converted into the country's first EV-exclusive production site following a £100million investment from Stellantis.

The factory currently assembles the Vauxhall - and Opel for mainland Europe - Combo-e commercial vehicle as well as the Citroen e-Berlingo van and Peugeot e-Partner sister models.

It also makes the Vauxhall Combo Life Electric, Peugeot e-Rifter and Citroën e-Berlingo MPVs - three MPVs based on each brand's vans.

Last year, it was hailed by the business secretary as a 'visible demonstration that the Government has got the right plan for the UK's automotive sector'.

The Ellesmere Port site produced its final Astra back in April 2022, having been the home of the family hatchback - and estate version - through all seven generations dating back to 1981.

This saw more than four million built in total across four decades.

Diane Miller, plant director at Ellesmere Port, last year hailed the start of production of EV models at the factory as a 'signal of a bright future for the plant' and referenced the job boost for Britain, adding that it 'ensures it will continue to manufacture vehicles for many years to come'.

She added that Stellantis is 'committed to working with the Government to ensure the UK automotive industry remains competitive for producing electric vehicles for the long-term', as ministers set out to make Britain a more appealing location to manufacturers.

Kemi Badenoch, secretary of state for business and trade, said it was a 'very visible demonstration that this Government has got the right plan for the UK's automotive sector'.

She added: 'Alongside recent investments from other major vehicle manufacturers, we are ensuring the UK remains at the forefront of automotive innovation as well as securing jobs in this critical industry and its wider supply chain.' 

A brief history on the 60-year-old Vauxhall factory 

Ellesmere Port was built in 1962 and produced its first car, the Vauxhall Viva, in 1964. 

Since then, it has produced iconic models from the Vauxhall range including the Chevette and successive generations of the Vauxhall and Opel Astra. 

Since 1985, more than 4.1million Astras have rolled off the production lines at Ellesmere Port and in excess of 5.2million cars across all models.

Production of the latest eighth-generation Astra now takes place at Opel's Rüsselsheim site in German.

Among the first electric vehicles to be produced at Ellesmere Port, the Vauxhall Combo Electric is powered by a 50kWh lithium-ion battery paired with a 100kW (136PS) electric motor. 

It has a range of up to 175 miles, while a 0 to 80 per cent charge can be completed in just 30 mins from a 100kW rapid charger.

Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat are currently the only mainstream automotive brands to produce vans in Britain. 

Alongside the Ellesmere Port plant, they all continue to make vans at the Stellantis factory in Luton, which has been operating since 1905.

Speaking in 2022 about the end of Astra production in Britain, Paul Willcox, managing director at Vauxhall and senior vice-president for Stellantis, said: 'Over the last 60 years, Ellesmere Port has become one of the great British car plants, producing some of the most popular cars on the roads across generations. 

'With one era closing, we're now looking forward to an all-new electric era at Ellesmere, with the site becoming the first Stellantis plant to produce solely electric vehicles. 

'Vauxhall is fast moving towards an electric future and I'm pleased to see the next-generation of Vauxhall electric vehicles made in Britain.'

Vauxhall has committed to selling only electric vehicles from 2028, seven years ahead of the Government deadline, and says the transformation at Ellesmere Port will 'ensure the UK remains at the forefront of electric vehicle manufacturing'. 

2024-06-25T21:16:33Z dg43tfdfdgfd