Stellantis, the merged form of the FCA group and the PSA group has now announced a major investment in the UK. It has announced that its Ellesmere Port in the UK will become its first manufacturing site dedicated to battery-powered electric LCVs and passenger cars from the Vauxhall, Opel, Peugeot and Citroen brands. An investment of $128 million is being made to upgrade the site which was built in 1962. This includes a new body shop, upgraded general assembly, compression of the site area and the creation of an on-site better pack assembly facility. It will also be fully powered by renewable energy produced locally by wind and solar farms.
"This new era of manufacturing will see a transformation of the Ellesmere Port plant "fit for the future", with a new body shop, upgraded general assembly, compression of the site area and the creation of an on-site battery pack assembly. In addition, there will be further support to enable a pathway to carbon neutrality for the plant by the middle of this decade. The plant aims to be 100% self-sufficient for electricity and work will commence imminently on potential wind and solar farms," said Stellantis in a statement.
Stellantis Is Also Making 4 Electric Vehicles At Italy's Melfi Plant From 2024: Report
2022 onwards this plant will produce compact electric vehicles for Vauxhall, Opel, Peugeot and Citroen which will be sold not just in the UK, but also in Europe. The models include - Peugeot e-Partner
Peugeot e-Rifter (passenger version), Citroen e-Berlingo van, Citroen e-Berlingo (passenger version), Opel Combo-e, Opel Combo-e Life (passenger version), Vauxhall Combo-e and Vauxhall Combo-e Life (passenger version.
All these vans are technically the same with a 50kWh battery and a 100 kW electric motor. The WLTP range stands at 280 kilometres and DC Fast Charging capability up to 100 kW that allows for a recharge of 0-80 per cent in 30 minutes. This is not the first EV related investment in the UK as Nissan and Envision AESC recently announced the Nissan EV36Zero hub in Sunderland.
