End of an era at Vauxhall Ellesmere Port plant as final Astra produced

The final Vauxhall Astra has rolled off the production line on April 6, after more than four million Astras were made at the plant since 1981.

The milestone comes as the plant, which is celebrating 60 years of manufacturing in Ellesmere Port plant, will now be transformed into the first Stellantis factory to produce solely battery-electric models by the end of the year.

The transformation will cost £100 million.

Ellesmere Port opened in 1962 and began as a production plant for the Vauxhall Viva. Since then it has produced iconic models from the Vauxhall range including the Chevette and successive generations of the Vauxhall and Opel Astra. In total, more than 5.2 million vehicles have rolled off the production lines at Ellesmere Port over the past 60 years.

The popular Vauxhall Combo-e and its Opel equivalent will be some of the first electric vehicles to be produced at Ellesmere when the plant reopens, along with Peugeot e-Partner and Citroën e-Berlingo vans. Ellesmere Port will also produce a range of passenger vehicles across the Stellantis brands including the Vauxhall Combo-e Life, Opel Combo-e Life, Peugeot e-Rifter and Citroën ë-Berlingo MPVs.

The new Vauxhall Combo-e. Picture: Anthony Devlin/Getty Images

These light commercial vehicles, and their passenger car variants, are all powered by a 100kW (136hp) motor with a 50kWh lithium-ion battery. They can be charged at up to 100kW and take just 30 minutes to charge from zero per cent to 80 per cent, capable of up to 174 miles of range under WLTP conditions.

Paul Willcox, managing director, Vauxhall and Senior Vice-President for Stellantis, said: “Over the last 60 years, Ellesmere Port has become one of the great British car plants, producing some of the most popular cars on the roads across generations.

The final Vauxhall Astras roll off the production line. Picture: Anthony Devlin/Getty Images

"With one era closing, we’re now looking forward to an all-new electric era at Ellesmere, with the site becoming the first Stellantis plant to produce solely electric vehicles. Vauxhall is fast moving towards an electric future and I’m pleased to see the next-generation of Vauxhall electric vehicles made in Britain.”

Vauxhall has committed to selling only electric vehicles from 2028, seven years ahead of the Government deadline, and the transformation at Ellesmere Port will ensure the UK remains at the forefront of electric vehicle manufacturing. The plant upgrade also forms a part of Stellantis’ commitment to become a carbon neutral group, globally, by 2038 – and to halve its carbon footprint by 2030, based on 2021 data.

The final Vauxhall Astras roll off the production line. Picture: Anthony Devlin/Getty Images

Having first produced the Vauxhall Astra from November 16, 1981, then in its first generation, more than four million Astra models have been built at Ellesmere Port.

Production of the seventh generation Astra model came to a close on April 6. The final Vauxhall Astra model to roll off the production line was an Astra Sport Tourer SRi Nav 1.2 Turbo Manual in Hot Red and the occasion was celebrated with a gathering of the plant workforce as well as former employees.

Vauxhall staff mark the end of an era in Ellesmere Port, and the beginning of a new one. Picture: Anthony Devlin/Getty Images

Work will now be undertaken to transform Ellesmere Port into an electric vehicle manufacturing centre when it restarts production in early 2023.

The eighth generation All-New Astra, and Astra Sport Tourer, are now available to order and deliveries to UK customers are starting imminently. Available now with plug-in hybrid technology, a fully electric version of both cars will also arrive next year as part of Vauxhall’s commitment to only sell fully electric vehicles from 2028.