Stellantis's Luton plant to produce electric vans from early 2025

Automotive giant Stellantis will build electric vans at its Luton plant and the first examples will roll off production lines early next year alongside ICE counterparts.

The company will adapt the factory’s production line "imminently" to allow electric versions of the Vauxhall Vivaro Electric, Peugeot E-Expert, Citroën ë-Dispatch and Fiat E-Scudo to be produced.

“This is a fitting way to mark Luton’s 120th anniversary,” said plant director Mark Noble.

The move follows the £100 million full electrification of Stellantis’s Ellesmere Port factory last year and means both its UK plants produce electric models – the only difference being that Ellesmere is exclusively electric.

At Luton, Stellantis has confirmed to Autocar that a “limited number” of EVs will be produced, with minimal to no impact expected on its ICE output. Last year, around 90,000 vans rolled off the plant’s production lines. The company would not disclose the cost of the upgrade.

The electric models will be built mainly for the UK to fulfill the market's EV demand and allow it to hit the UK government's ZEV mandate requirements. Under the ZEV mandate, 22% of all manufacturers’ new car sales must be EV, rising each year to 100% in 2035. Some left-hand-drive models will also built for mainland Europe.

The adaptations to the line will be minor, Autocar has been told, and require no plant downtime because both ICE and EV models use the closely related K0/eK0 medium-sized platform. The first models will be completed next spring.

In announcing the move, Stellantis UK boss Maria Grazia Davino called on the government to offer support to car makers in the UK as they move towards full electrification and to stimulate market demand for EVs.

She said: “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.”