MANCHESTER (CU)_Recent data has revealed that in the month of June, the United Kingdom’s car industry continued a weak recovery from the pandemic as the European nation reported sales well below pre-Covid-19 levels. Over the past year, there was a noteworthy decline in consumer demand for motor vehicles owing to pandemic-induced restrictions which resulted in a global shortage in semiconductors, forcing some of the top carmakers to halt operations in many of their plants in the UK. Nevertheless, electric vehicles continue to be popular among buyers, with sales of battery-powered electric cars last month reaching 19,800, more than double from a year ago.
On the other hand, sales of vans have also been booming during the pandemic, particularly on account of growing home delivery sales. Accordingly, Vauxhall Motors, owned by Stellantis, has decided to capitalise on this market, as the multinational automotive giant announced plans to build electric vans at its Ellesmere Port plant in Cheshire. Previously, concerns were raised over the future of the plant, after the carmaker decided to scrap plans to build the new Astra model there. However, the recent decision, which involves an investment worth hundreds of millions of pounds, is expected to safeguard more than 1,000 jobs.
Carlos Tavares, chief executive of Stellantis, previously revealed that although the automaker would halt investments in pure petrol or diesel vehicles, its decision to build electric vehicles will depend on whether the UK government is prepared to support vehicle industry. Now it appears that London has done exactly that, not only with Stellantis, but also with Japanese carmaker Nissan, which announced an expansion of its EV production at the plant in Sunderland, a move which is expected to create about 1,650 new jobs.
Stellantis, headquartered in Amsterdam, is the world’s fifth-largest carmaker. It currently owned some of the top automotive brands, including Peugeot, Chrysler and Fiat. Vauxhall Motors, owned by Stellantis, acquired the Ellesmere Port in 1957 from the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. Details of the plans on the Ellesmere Port plant are expected to be revealed at a press conference later.
