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Economic Development

Future of Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port plant in doubt as Stellantis to decide fate 'within weeks'

Carlos Tavares says its fate depends on decisions made by the º£½ÇÊÓÆµ Government

A view of Vauxhall's assembly plant in Ellesmere Port(Image: Getty Images Europe)

The future of Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port plant is in doubt after the car giant's owner said he would decide its fate within weeks.

Carlos Tavares, chief executive of Stellantis, an automotive superpower formed by the recent merger of PSA and Fiat Chrysler, said the outlook for the facility is uncertain, largely due to the upcoming ban on new petrol and diesel cars.

Governments can "create situations which destroy the business model", he told a press conference.

"If we are told that in 2030 internal combustion engines cannot be sold in the º£½ÇÊÓÆµ - which we respect as a decision from the country - then we are not going to invest in internal combustion engines anymore because that makes no sense.

"That means that we are going to work on other directions, and then we see if there is a business model for the other directions."

He went on: "If you change brutally the rules and if you restrict the rules for business, then there is at one point in time a problem.

"The more we put stringent objectives on the automotive industry, the more you get close to that limit."

Mr Tavares said that "from a pure logistic perspective" it could make more sense to focus investment in electric car manufacturing in the EU rather than the º£½ÇÊÓÆµ, because it sells more of the vehicles in the former, as PA reports.