Things have changed now: yesterday the site began production as the UK's first factory dedicated purely to producing electric vehicles at scale. It is a landmark moment in the shift away from fossil fuels for the British automotive industry.
The plant, by the River Mersey in Cheshire, will assemble 50,000 electric vans a year under the group's Vauxhall, Opel, Peugeot, Citroën and Fiat badges, with passenger cars to come next year.
Inside the 1960s shed, newly installed robots trundle around following lines on the floor. They carry 50kWh batteries - enough to go 175 miles - around the plant. The batteries are assembled onsite (using cells from China) before they reach the "marriage" stage of life: being lifted up to be bolted to the bottom of the vans.
Esta historia es de la edición September 08, 2023 de The Guardian.
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