Carmaker Stellantis has confirmed plans to bring EV production to its Luton plant from next year.
The company said today that it will begin building all-electric medium vans at the site in limited numbers from the spring of 2025.
At that point, the Bedfordshire plant will become Stellantis’s second UK site manufacturing electric vehicles, after lines began running at Ellesmere Port last year.
The development is seen as a key milestone in the company’s ambitious plans which eventually lead to the electrification of all of Stellantis’s van production sites across Europe.
Stellantis to start production of electric vehicles at Luton from 2025 https://t.co/cuKSdFqhBU
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At the Luton factory, the outfit will make the fully electric Vauxhall Vivaro Electric, Opel Vivaro Electric, Peugeot E-Expert, Citroen e-Dispatch and Fiat Professional E-Scudo in right- and left-hand-drive formats.
The plant, which opened in 1905, will primarily focus on vehicles for the UK market but a smaller number will also be exported to left-hand-drive countries.
The introduction of EV production will not spell the end of internal combustion engine (ICE) vans, which will also continue alongside the electric versions.
The change in approach has been announced to coincide with the plant’s 120th birthday, having opened way back in 1904.
Mark Noble, Luton plant director and Stellantis UK manufacturing lead, said: “I’m pleased to announce that we will commence limited production of our medium electric van in Luton from next year, when the first customer vehicles will roll off the production line.
“This is a fitting way to mark Luton’s 120th anniversary.”
Maria Grazia Davino, group managing director of Stellantis UK, added: “Whilst this decision demonstrates Stellantis’s confidence in the plant, this first step in its redevelopment towards a fully electric future requires the UK government to stimulate more demand in the electric vehicle market and support manufacturers that invest in the UK for a sustainable transition.”
Stellantis said that Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat Professional are currently the only mainstream automotive brands to produce vans in the UK.