Stellantis, the maker of Vauxhall, Peugeot and Citroën vehicles, said it will invest £100mln alongside a subsidy from the UK government to adapting its factory in Cheshire to produce electric cars and vans.
The Ellesmere Port plant will become the European carmaker’s “first manufacturing site dedicated to battery electric LCV (vans) and passenger car models”.
Eight models made at the site will include a Vauxhall Combo-e van and passenger car – and similarly branded vehicles for Citroën, Opel and Peugeot – with battery ranges of around 170 miles.
Amsterdam-based Stellantis would not reveal the size of subsidies from the government but the Financial Times reported the grant was worth around £30mln.
Chief executive Carlos Tavares previously said Britain’s decision to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 as “brutal” and another director told the Guardian the company’s investment was on a “knife edge” before securing government support.
The government last week also gave the green light to subsidies to encourage Nissan and its Chinese battery partner to go ahead with a major expansion of electric vehicle facilities in Sunderland.
Ellesmere Port has been making cars for almost 60 years, having produced its first car, the Vauxhall Viva, in 1964. It has since built over 5.2mln Viva and Astra vehicles.