Vauxhall Ellesmere Port

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Coordinates: 53°18′11.9″N 2°55′55.3″W / 53.303306°N 2.932028°W / 53.303306; -2.932028
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Vauxhall Ellesmere Port
Groupe PSA (2017–2021)
Stellantis
(2021–present)

Vauxhall Ellesmere Port is a motor vehicle assembly plant, located in the town of

Cheshire West & Chester, United Kingdom. It has always built small/medium Vauxhall/Opel vehicles, including the Vauxhall Viva and Opel/Vauxhall Astra. It is owned by the global car manufacturer Stellantis
.

Background

In 1070,

Battle of Bosworth
, Hooton had a new hall and the first Lord Derby in Lancashire. A second half-timbered hall was built in 1488.

A third Italian-style hall was constructed circa 1778, but this later sold to cover the Stanley family's gambling debts in 1850. The hall was bought by a Mr. Naylor, a wealthy Liverpool banker, for 82,000

guineas
.

RAF Hooton Park

Main article: RAF Hooton Park

British War Department
requisitioned the estate for use as an army training ground.

Allocating the site to the

aircraft hangars
, which were completed in 1917.

The airfield closed in 1957 after the disbandment of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, with the site sold to Vauxhall Motors.

History

The former RAF site was bought by

US Air Force. The first components flowed off the production line in November 1962.[1]

However, the site was quickly developed as the small-car production centre, with the first

Vauxhall Viva rolling off of the new assembly line in June 1964. What became known locally as the North Road factory has been responsible since for building all of the successive models, including from 1975 all variants of the Vauxhall Chevette. Employment at the plant peaked that year, at 12,000.[1]

In 1980, the plant exported the first Opel badged cars from the UK, with 2,000 Ellesmere Port-built Chevettes exported for sale in West Germany through the Opel dealer network.[1] After the launch of the Vauxhall Astra in 1981, a further £65M investment in 1984 allowed commencement of the second generation Astra. After the consolidation of the European management, design functions and vehicle models in 1986 of the Opel and Vauxhall companies under parent company General Motors Europe, over half of the production output of the plant has been exported.[1]

For much of its existence thereon within the Opel/Vauxhall production network, Ellesmere Port was the sister facility to Opel's Bochum plant in Germany; from the 1973 Opel Kadett C onward, the two factories were the lead plants for the Kadett/Astra platform through the last six model generations. Following Bochum's closure in 2014, Ellesmere Port became the sole lead plant for the Astra K, which was released in 2016.

In 1996, it was the first car plant in the world to be certified for its environmental management systems.[1]

2000s to present

There had been fears that the plant could close in 2014, as the new Astra model came into production in 2015. However, compared to its sister site in Bochum, Ellesmere Port in 2012 was reported to be producing 47 cars an hour over two shifts a day (a company record), while Bochum was producing 30 cars an hour over three shifts a day. In May 2012 the announcement was made that as a result of its commitment to new operating practices Ellesmere Port had been awarded the mandate to produce the new Astra from 2015 alongside Opel's

Groupe PSA
.

In 2018, PSA cut several hundred jobs at the factory amid uncertainty about the future viability of production after Brexit.[3][4][5] On 23 November 2018, a strike was held at the plant by all union workers in protest at ongoing job losses.[6]

As of 2019, the plant employs about 1,100 people, still producing the current model Opel/Vauxhall Astra.[7][1]

PSA's intention was that Ellesmere Port would be one of two factories to build the new Astra in 2021; the Rüsselsheim plant in Germany would also build Opel Astras from 2021.[7] PSA would pull production from the Ellesmere Port plant if Brexit renders the plant unprofitable.[8] It was reported that PSA would build the Astra estate, which represents the bulk of Ellesmere Port production, in Rüsselsheim from 2022 as 95% of Astra estates are sold on the European continent. According to PSA, allocation of vehicle to Ellesmere Port would be contingent on the terms of the future trading relationship between the UK and the EU, and ensuring that it is a profitable investment.[9]

In January 2021 Groupe PSA became part of Stellantis, which also incorporates brands from the former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.[10]

Electric era

Production of the Astra stopped in April 2022. The factory was retooled to produce the

Peugeot e-Partner and FIAT E-Doblò electric vans in 2023. Their passenger car equivalents will start production on site in 2024.[11]

Cars built at Ellesmere Port

Football club

Main article: Vauxhall Motors F.C.

Rivacre Park, opened by then England manager Bobby Robson
, where the club plays today.

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vauxhall Motors plant, Ellesmere Port.
  1. ^ a b c d e f "Ellesmere Port Memories: A look at the past as Vauxhall plant looks to future". Chester Chronicle. 23 September 2009. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  2. ^ "Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port plant to build new Astra". BBC News. 17 May 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  3. ^ "Vauxhall chief warns of Brexit threat to Ellesmere Port". BBC News. 6 March 2018.
  4. Independent.co.uk. 23 November 2018. Archived
    from the original on 11 August 2022.
  5. ^ "PSA said to mull closing Vauxhall factory post-Brexit". 15 November 2018.
  6. ^ "Vauxhall: Ellesmere Port plant workers stage mass walk out". BBC News. 23 November 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Vauxhall UK manufacture 'depends on Brexit'". BBC News. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  8. ^ Halliday, Josh (29 July 2019). "Ellesmere Port MP warns of 'catastrophic' Vauxhall plant closure". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  9. ^ Tovey, Alan (14 January 2020). "Fears grow for Vauxhall's UK car plant with work being shifted to Germany". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  10. ^ Beresford, Colin (19 January 2021). "It's Official: Fiat Chrysler and PSA Group Are Now Stellantis". Car and Driver. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  11. ^ Jolly, Jasper (7 September 2023). "Plugging into the future: electric van production begins at Ellesmere Port" – via The Guardian.

External links

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