Stellantis announces that they could close Ellesmere Port plant
- The Stellantis Group has announced that it could close its Ellesmere Port plant in the UK, which has been producing Citroën e-Berlingo, Fiat e-Doblo, Opel e-Combo and Peugeot e-Partner battery electric vans since 2023.
- According to the carmaker, BEV sales remain too low on the European market for this plant to operate at full capacity and become profitable. Inovev estimates that the plant has produced 21,479 vehicles by 2023. At the current rate of BEV sales in the first quarter of 2024, the production volume for 2024 (6,592 units produced over 4 months) could be lower than in 2023, and not reach 20,000 units for the full year.
- The Stellantis Group expects the British government to be willing to develop BEV sales through tax incentives to meet the "ZEV mandate" proposed by the government.
- The "ZEV Mandate" for zero-emission vehicles came into force in the UK on January 1, 2024. Here's what it entails: carmakers will have to produce more new zero-emission cars and vans every year so that by 2035, all new cars and vans sold in Britain will be battery electric vehicles. These regulations are backed by a government investment of over £2 billion to develop a network of charging infrastructure and encourage the uptake of zero-emission vehicles. The ZEV mandate is part of the UK government's low-carbon strategy to reduce transport-related greenhouse gas emissions.