Stellantis has ceased van production at its Vauxhall plant in Luton, UK, and will close the facility as part of a broader restructuring plan, the company confirmed. The move comes as the automaker consolidates its UK manufacturing operations, shifting electric van production to Ellesmere Port.
The decision marks the end of a 120-year history for Vauxhall in Luton, where the brand first established a factory in 1905. The final vehicle, a Vivaro van, rolled off the production line on Friday. The plant closure will result in the loss of 1,100 jobs, though Stellantis plans to transfer several hundred positions to Ellesmere Port. Affected workers will be offered retraining or alternative employment opportunities.
Stellantis had previously signaled the potential closure of the Luton site in November, citing the UK’s ‘ZEV mandate,’ which requires automakers to meet stricter sales targets for zero-emission vehicles. “Moving all activities to one site would consolidate Stellantis’ production base in the UK,” former Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said. He added that the decision would enhance production efficiency and help the company comply with the ZEV mandate, which now requires 26% of cars and 16% of vans sold to be emission-free.
Initially, Stellantis had planned to manufacture battery-electric variants of the Opel/Vauxhall Vivaro, Peugeot Expert, Fiat Scudo, and Citroën Dispatch at Luton starting in 2025. However, the company has now reassigned this production to Ellesmere Port, a facility already set up for electric vehicle manufacturing.
The closure of the Luton plant follows Stellantis’ broader strategy of streamlining its operations in response to evolving regulatory and market conditions. While the shift to Ellesmere Port will preserve some jobs, the impact of the closure on the local workforce remains significant.
Credit: Autocar
