Vauxhall Astra to be built in UK, but only if no-deal Brexit is avoided

Disorderly exit from EU would put 1,000 jobs at carmaker’s Ellesmere Port plant at risk, with production moving to Germany

Decision 'will be conditional on the final terms of the UK's exit from the European Union', company says (Reuters)

Vauxhall’s French owner has said it will only build its next generation of the Astra in the UK if any Brexit deal with the EU is satisfactory.

PSA, which also owns Peugeot, currently builds the Vauxhall Astra at a plant in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, and Gliwice, Poland.

It said on Thursday that the new version of the Astra will be built at Ellesmere Port and another plant in Rüsselsheim, Germany, from 2021.

However, the decision to build the model in the UK “will be conditional on the final terms of the UK’s exit from the European Union and the acceptance of the New Vehicle Agreement, which has been negotiated with the Unite trade union”.

The Cheshire plant employs around 1,000 people, whose jobs would be under threat if the UK leaves the EU without a trade deal.

Both contenders for the Conservative Party leadership have said they would be willing to go through with a no-deal Brexit on 31 October.

A decision to stop building the car in the UK would mark a sharp departure from Vauxhall’s approach of promoting itself as a “confidently British” brand.

The company, which was owned by US carmaker General Motors before being bought by PSA in 2017, launched an ad campaign for the Astra last year that billed its best-selling model as “true Brit”, on the basis that versions of the car have been built at Ellesmere Port for more than 40 years.

Mick Chalmers, regional officer at Unite, said a no-deal Brexit would destroy hopes of securing the Ellesmere Port factory’s future.

“It is imperative for the future of the thousands of people who depend on Vauxhall Ellesmere Port that a no-deal Brexit is taken off the table and a deal reached with the European Union that secures frictionless trade and tariff-free access,” he said.

“Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt need to wake up to the harm that a no-deal Brexit will have on people’s livelihoods and futures.”

PSA said its decision is also dependent on the New Vehicle Agreement – a deal between management and Unite covering working practices and contract terms and conditions.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said: “This latest news is potentially hugely positive but reinforces what we have been saying all along.

“The threat alone of a ‘no deal’ Brexit is preventing companies from committing to investment in the UK.”