Stellantis today announced the start of a consultation with its employees and Trade Union partners on a proposal to consolidate its UK manufacturing of light commercial vehicles (LCV) to create an all-electric, sustainable vehicle hub at its Ellesmere Port site in Cheshire through a £50 million investment.
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 LCVs, and support the Company’s ambition to become the No. 1 LCV manufacturer globally. Ellesmere Port is proposed as the new all-electric UK LCV hub to take advantage of UK employees’ expertise on the new line, the site’s footprint and proximity to the Green Automotive Hub located at the adjacent Queen Elizabeth II Eastham docks and the recently constructed 59,500m² Stellantis UK parts distribution centre.
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. Today, it is the UK’s first and only volume EV-only manufacturing facility building the Company’s small LCV range of Citroën ë-Berlingo, Vauxhall Combo Electric, Opel Combo Electric, Peugeot E-Partner and Fiat Professional E-Doblo.
The Company transformed Ellesmere Port plant with a new body shop, upgraded general assembly, a compression of the site area and the creation of an on-site battery pack assembly. In addition, there is further support to enable a pathway to carbon neutrality for the plant later this decade and the plant aims to be 100% self-sufficient for electricity.
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. Dedicated comprehensive job support, including opportunities for retraining, for all employees affected will also be implemented in the very active Luton area, just one mile from the international airport. At the same time, Stellantis will work with local government and local employers to identify new employment opportunities within the Luton area for Stellantis employees who might be impacted by this proposal if it goes ahead.
Stellantis intends to remain the UK market leader in electric LCVs, with over 32,000 vehicles already sold in the country since launch and will continue to be the only volume manufacturer of LCVs in the UK.
The proposed optimisation of the UK LCV manufacturing footprint and new investments in the country support Stellantis Pro One’s ambition to become the No. 1 LCV manufacturer globally and Stellantis, as it works to become a carbon net zero corporation by 2038, all scopes included, with single-digit percentage compensation of remaining emissions.
SOURCE: Stellantis
