Stellantis is celebrating a landmark 1,500,000 Vauxhall Vivaro and its sister vans built at its manufacturing plant in Luton.
L-R: Mike Brown, Head of Fleet & EV Transition, Virgin Media O2, Mark Noble, Luton Plant Director, and James Taylor, Managing Director, Vauxhall
First produced in 2001, the Vauxhall Vivaro and its sister models have become some of the most popular Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) for Stellantis. In the UK alone, more than 350,000 Vauxhall Vivaros have been sold to date.
The 1.5 millionth Vivaro-platform van, a Vauxhall Vivaro Prime Van, will be delivered to Virgin Media O2, one of Vauxhall’s major fleet partners.
Opened in 1905, Luton has been home to Vauxhall models for more than a century. The first commercial vehicles were assembled at the plant in 1932, with panel vans ‘VYC’ and ‘VXC’ the first vans to roll off the production line.
Since then, Luton has continued to produce a range of popular commercial vehicles for Vauxhall, with models including the Chevanne, Astravan, Midi and Rascal all rolling off Luton’s production line. In 2001, production of the Vivaro began, which is now in its third generation.
Vivaro vans produced at Luton have gone on to serve a number of Vauxhall’s leading fleet partners, including Virgin Media O2, BT, Sky and Royal Mail, while also being distributed out to European customers under the Opel badge.
As part of Stellantis, the plant in Luton produces the Vauxhall Vivaro, Opel Vivaro, Peugeot Expert, Citroën Dispatch/Jumpy, and Fiat Scudo, and manufactured the previous generation Vivaro for other marques.
James Taylor, Managing Director, Vauxhall, said: “Luton has been home for Vauxhall commercial vehicles for nearly a century. Since 2001, the Vivaro has become one of Britain’s most recognisable vehicles on the road, and has helped businesses across the country and abroad. Vauxhall is incredibly proud to have the vehicle reach the important milestone of 1.5 million models produced, and I’d like to thank everyone who has helped achieve this.”
Mike Brown, Head of Fleet & EV Transition, Virgin Media O2, said: “The Vivaro is the ideal van for our needs, so I’m thrilled that Virgin Media O2 is the recipient of the 1.5 millionth Vivaro produced at Luton. As we transition to a fully electric fleet by 2030, the Vivaro Electric is becoming a key part of our business, aiding our transition to a more sustainable future and helping our employees carry out service and install visits at customers’ homes across the country.”
The Vauxhall Vivaro/Opel Vivaro, Peugeot Expert, Citroen Dispatch/Jumpy and Fiat Scudo are also available as fully electric LCVs. Available with a 50kWh or a 75kWh battery, they achieve a WLTP range of up to 205 miles from a single charge and come with a maximum payload of up to 1,226kg.
The Vivaro Electric was the UK’s best-selling e-LCV for the second year in a row in 2022, while Vauxhall was the UK’s best-selling e-LCV manufacturer, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The model has continued this trend into 2023, leading the sales charts yet again so far this year.
In 2023, production of the fully-electric variants of the Vauxhall Combo, Peugeot Partner and Citroen Berlingo small vans will begin at Stellantis’ Ellesmere Port plant, following a £100 million investment to support its transformation into an electric vehicle manufacturing site.
