Last Vauxhall van rolls off Luton manufacturing line as 120-year-old manufacturing unit closes

The last van has rolled off the assembly line at Vauxhall’s historic Luton plant.

Marking ‘the end of an era’, the last Vivaro van came off the production line at 12.18 on Friday, lowering the curtain on 120 years of vehicle-making at the Bedfordshire factory.

Vauxhall’s parent company Stellantis had announced the closure of the factory in November 2024, confirming that 1,100 jobs would be at risk.

At the time Stellantis – which owns Vauxhall, Peugeot, Fiat, Jeep, Alfa Romeo and Citroen amongst others – said that the decision was made within the context of the Government’s ‘stringent’ zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate.

The closure of the Luton factory forms part of the group’s plan to consolidate its UK manufacturing of vans to create an all-electric hub at its Ellesmere Port plant.

Vauxhall has said it will now start transferring its van ‘machinery and process knowledge’ to its existing factory in the North West of England.

Vauxhall’s Luton plant that employs 1,100 people saw the final van roll off its production line on Friday as Stellantis moves its electric van production to Ellesmere in Cheshire

Vauxhall first moved to Luton in 1905 after it started manufacturing cars in 1903. 

Post-war cars including the Vauxhall Cresta, Victor and Viva all rolled off the Luton line, as have modern models including the Frontera and Vectra.

However, since 2002, when the Vectra was the final passenger car to be built at Luton, the plant has exclusively made commercial vehicles.

But the last chapter in Vauxhall’s Luton history came to an end on Friday lunchtime, with workers reportedly in tears as they saw the last van roll off the line.

Justin Nicholls, manufacturing shift manager at the plant, who has worked at Luton for 38 years, posted on LinkedIn on Friday: ‘As our final van rolled off the production line, we shared a heartfelt goodbye.’

Steve Brown, who also worked at the Luton vehicle plant, told the BBC it was a ‘sad, sad day’ but after 34 years ‘life goes on’, while another worker Josh Scrutton said it was ‘the best job’ he’s had, and it was ‘good pay’.

The Luton plant has the capacity to make 100,000 vehicles a year, although in the past decade it has built between 60,000 and 78,000 vans a year

The closure of the Luton factory forms part of the group’s plan to consolidate its UK manufacturing of vans to create an all-electric hub at its Ellesmere Port plant 

Vauxhall has been at Luton since 1905, so it’s a huge change for the Bedfordshire community and county to not have a production plant there anymore

Many staff at the Luton plant now face an uncertain future with the threat of job losses looming.

The November plant closure came as a surprise after Stellantis originally pledged to invest in EV production at Luton.

However, the group then announced it would be closing the plant and investing £50million in Ellesmere Port instead to consolidate its electric van production. 

This was said to be due to the ZEV mandate, which requires at least 28 per cent of new car sales and 16 per cent of new van sales to be zero-emission this year.

Stellantis said last year that the 1,100 Luton workforce will be offered roles at its Ellesmere Port plant.

However, given the Cheshire factory is some 180 miles away, it is unclear how many will be willing or able to relocate.

Luton previously made popular modern models including the Frontera (pictured) and Vectra as well as vans and post-war cars

In an official statement, Stellantis said on Friday: ‘Production of the current medium van range ceased today in Luton.

‘There will now be a period of transforming and transferring machinery and process knowledge to Ellesmere Port.

‘Our employees always remain our priority, and we continue to act responsibly towards our colleagues in Luton.

‘We continue with direct consultation meetings, relocation support for those who wish to transition to Ellesmere Port and onsite support activities, such as job fairs, CV writing, retraining support and wellness sessions.’

Stellantis has confirmed that production of the group’s medium all-electric LCV (light commercial vehicles) range (eK0) will commence in Q4 2026 in Ellesmere.