Green automotive hub to support Stellantis EV production at Ellesmere Port

Stellantis has marked the official opening of its Green Automotive Hub which will support electric vehicle production at the group’s Ellesmere Port manufacturing facility.

The Hub has been developed in partnership with Suardiaz and Peel Ports to facilitate a new maritime logistics service which will supply parts to Ellesmere Port.

The 891 nautical miles maritime route between it and Stellantis’s sister plant at Vigo Port in Valencia, which will be carried out twice a week, is projected to reduce annual CO2 emissions by 30% and energy consumption by 37% when compared to road travel.

Each ship will be able to take up to 95 lorries whose cargo will comprise around 47 different part lines of sheet metal parts and components that will be used in the assembly of the all-electric compact vans produced at Ellesmere Port.

The packaging used to transport the parts is then taken back to Vigo Port on the return leg in order to be reused for subsequent trips.

Diane Miller, plant director, Ellesmere Port, said: “We’re thrilled to be marking the opening of the new Green Automotive Hub at Queen Elizabeth II Eastham dock.

“Following the start of electric vehicle production earlier this year, this is another important milestone for Ellesmere Port, enabling us to establish a sustainable supply chain through a new maritime shipping route with our sister plant in Vigo, Spain.”

 Ellesmere Port is the UK’s first EV-only volume manufacturing plant and the first Stellantis plant globally dedicated to electric vehicles.

Production officially commenced in September this year, following a £100 million investment to transform Ellesmere Port for EV production.

The plant produces the Vauxhall Combo Electric, Opel Combo Electric, Peugeot e-Partner, Citroën ë-Berlingo and Fiat E-Doblò, compact vans. Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroën and Fiat are currently the only mainstream automotive brands to produce vans in Britain.

From 2024, Ellesmere Port will also produce a range of electric passenger vehicles across the Stellantis brands, including the Vauxhall Combo Life Electric, Peugeot e-Rifter and Citroën ë-Berlingo MPVs.