8:41 am, February 22, 2024
Stellantis is to begin production of all-electric medium vans at its Luton plant next year.
It said today limited production will get under way there next spring, making the Bedfordshire factory the second Stellantis plant in the UK to manufacture electric vehicles, following the start of EV production at Ellesmere Port last year.
Luton is part of the transformation to electrification of all Stellantis sites producing vans in Europe.
It’ll make the fully electric Vauxhall Vivaro Electric, Opel Vivaro Electric, Peugeot E-Expert, Citroen e-Dispatch and Fiat Professional E-Scudo in right- and left-hand-drive formats.
The plant, which opened in 1905, will mainly make vans for the UK right-hand-drive market but will also be exporting to left-hand-drive countries.
Production of the equivalent internal combustion engine (ICE) vans will continue alongside the electric versions.
Mark Noble, Luton plant director and Stellantis UK manufacturing lead, said: ‘I’m pleased to announce that we will commence limited production of our medium electric van in Luton from next year, when the first customer vehicles will roll off the production line.
‘This is a fitting way to mark Luton’s 120th anniversary.’
Maria Grazia Davino, group managing director of Stellantis UK, said: ‘Whilst this decision demonstrates Stellantis’s confidence in the plant, this first step in its redevelopment towards a fully electric future requires the UK government to stimulate more demand in the electric vehicle market and support manufacturers that invest in the UK for a sustainable transition.’
The first commercial vehicles were assembled at the plant in 1932, with panel vans VYC and VXC the first vans to roll off the production line.
In 2001, production of the Vivaro began, which was recently enhanced as part of a wider refresh of the entire Stellantis LCV line-up.
Stellantis said that Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat Professional are currently the only mainstream automotive brands to produce vans in the UK.
Alongside the Luton plant, they make vans at Ellesmere Port, which Stellantis says is the UK’s first electric vehicle-only volume manufacturing plant. It’s also the first Stellantis plant globally dedicated to electric vehicles.
