Car that saved jobs at Vauxhall Ellesmere Port rolls off assembly lines

The car credited with safeguarding the future of the Vauxhall assembly plant in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, rolled off the production lines today (September 21).

Set to appear in showrooms next month, the newest Astra model is considered to have saved the plant from closure in May 2012.

At that time, the manufacturer’s parent company, General Motors, was considering shutting down one of its European plants.

Discussing production capacity in a recent interview with Just Auto, the chairman and managing director of Vauxhall Motors Ltd, Tim Tozer, said the plant plans to build between 110k and 120k units on a two-shift basis.

Mr Tozer further explained that the production process could eventually ramp up to three shifts, which would see the plant’s capacity hit 170k.

The Ellesmere Port assembly facility currently employs around 2,100 workers.