Perseverance pays off
Autocar UK|September 13, 2023
Ellesmere Port looked set for closure amid Brexit, but the people there never gave up, earning the factory a new lease of life. John Evans visits as electric van making begins
John Evans
Perseverance pays off

In the shadow of the Stanlow oil refinery, visible from the M53 as the motorway passes through Ellesmere Port on its way to Liverpool, they're building the future - an electric future. Vauxhall began manufacturing cars here in 1964. It stopped doing so in April 2022. Now, less than 18 months later, following a £100 million refit, the factory has begun making electric vans for Stellantis's Citroën, Fiat, Opel, Peugeot and Vauxhall brands.

I've been coming to this region for all of my 63 years and know it for the 'Stanlow stench' of rotten eggs and the refinery's ghostly gas flares. But I know the people, too. Well, some of them. Like their neighbours farther down the Mersey, they're big-hearted and happy to roll up their sleeves when there's a job to be done. And there's a job to be done at this factory - to show their overlords that they can build and deliver electric vans to Stellantis's standards on time and on budget. If they can't, there are plenty of other plants elsewhere in Europe happy to do so for them. So far, the signs are promising.

"Right up until early 2021, as Astra production was drawing to a close, people here thought they had no future, but they didn't give up," recalls plant director Diane Miller. "They wanted job security for themselves and their families and also for their friends and neighbours elsewhere among our local suppliers. I've seen staff in other plants cave in and take the redundancy money. Not these people."

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 13, 2023 من Autocar UK.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 13, 2023 من Autocar UK.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من AUTOCAR UK مشاهدة الكل
The venomous nature of the Cobra
Autocar UK

The venomous nature of the Cobra

Last week, Matt Prior drove a totally new kind of AC Cobra. This is a car with one of the strongest allures of all - but also an incredibly complex and controversial history.

time-read
3 mins  |
October 23, 2024
SKODA KAMIQ
Autocar UK

SKODA KAMIQ

A long getting-to-know-you trip to Spain reveals all

time-read
2 mins  |
October 23, 2024
THE SEVEN-YEAR TITCH
Autocar UK

THE SEVEN-YEAR TITCH

Outgoing baby Jag is plush, practical and now eminently affordable

time-read
2 mins  |
October 23, 2024
'Our time has come'
Autocar UK

'Our time has come'

Honda may be late to the EV party, but a barrage of bold new battery-powered cars is on the way. JAMES ATTWOOD speaks to boss Toshihiro Mibe at its R&D base to find out what's in store

time-read
8 mins  |
October 23, 2024
Lion kings
Autocar UK

Lion kings

Plush, powerful four-door cars are an endangered species - and now Peugeot has called time on its latest, the 508 PSE. STEPHEN DOBIE compares it with its most significant ancestor, the 505 GTI

time-read
6 mins  |
October 23, 2024
VOLKSWAGEN GOLF
Autocar UK

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF

Wolfsburg gives the lesser-known Golf PHEV a big-impact refresh

time-read
7 mins  |
October 23, 2024
PORSCHE PANAMERA GTS
Autocar UK

PORSCHE PANAMERA GTS

Stuttgart's latest 'bahnstormer targets driver appeal over outright punch

time-read
2 mins  |
October 23, 2024
MERCEDES-AMG GT 63 PRO
Autocar UK

MERCEDES-AMG GT 63 PRO

Hardcore variant of V8 sports car engineered with track days in mind

time-read
3 mins  |
October 23, 2024
TESLA REVEALS ROBOTAXI
Autocar UK

TESLA REVEALS ROBOTAXI

Firm unveils Cybercab coupé and 20-seat Robovan in autonomy push

time-read
2 mins  |
October 23, 2024
DACIA PLOTS AMBITIOUS EXPANDED EURO LINE-UP
Autocar UK

DACIA PLOTS AMBITIOUS EXPANDED EURO LINE-UP

Firm teases something different’ ahead of impending C-segment reveal

time-read
2 mins  |
October 23, 2024