Vauxhall is celebrating 50 years of manufacturing at its Ellesmere Port site in Cheshire. The site, which produces more than 70,000 Vauxhall Astras a year, started manufacturing the Vauxhall Viva on 1 June 1964. Production of the Viva ran at Ellesmere Port until 1978 when it was replaced by the Chevette.
In 1981, production of the first-generation Astra began at Ellesmere Port and, in the following four decades, the facility has become synonymous with Vauxhall’s best-selling model.
Following an announcement of £125 million investment in 2012, production of the next generation Vauxhall Astra will start at Ellesmere Port in 2015, securing the plant’s future well into the 2020s.
Find out more about the UK’s automotive manufacturers here: SMMT Motor Industry Facts 2014.
