Vauxhall's parent company Stellantis is celebrating a milestone as it sees the 1,500,000th Vivaro-based van roll off the production line at its Luton manufacturing plant.
First produced in 2001, the Vauxhall Vivaro and its platform-sharing siblings have become stalwarts in Stellantis' Light Commercial Vehicles lineup. In the UK alone, more than 350,000 Vivaros have been sold to date.
Vauxhall has been closely associated with Luton since it was first established in 1905. The first Vauxhall LCVs were produced at the site in 1932, with the 'VYC' and 'VXC' panel vans making their way down the production lines, and since then, the vans have kept on coming. Models such as the Chevanne, Astravan, Midi and Rascal have all made their way down the Luton line, along with the Vauxhall Vivaro, which is now in its third generation.
Vivaro vans are a familiar sight on UK roads, with the Luton-made vehicles being regularly supplied to Vauxhall's fleet partners, which include Virgin Media O2, BT, Sky and Royal Mail. There are plenty across Europe too, but European customers see them under the Opel badge rather than adorned with the familiar griffin. The mechanically identical Peugeot Expert, Citroen Dispatch and Jumpy, and Fiat Scudo are also built in Luton.
The previous-generation Vivaro was also made in the same factory, although alternate versions wore Nissan and Renault badges.
"Luton has been home for Vauxhall commercial vehicles for nearly a century,"
commented James Taylor, managing director at Vauxhall.
"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."
The 1.5 millionth model — a Vauxhall Vivaro Prime Van — is scheduled for delivery to one of Vauxhall's major fleet partners, Virgin Media O2. Head of fleet & EV transition at Virgin Media O2, Mike Brown, 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 Vivaro Electric and its Stellantis siblings are manufactured in Hordain, near Lille, France. Production of electric variants of the Vauxhall Combo, Peugeot Partner and Citroen Berlingo compact LCVs is expected to start at Stellantis' Ellesmere Port plant this year, although this has recently come under threat. In a submission to a commons committee inquiry, Stellantis warned:
"If the cost of electric vehicle manufacturing in the UK becomes uncompetitive and unsustainable, operations will close. Manufacturers will not continue to invest and [will] relocate manufacturing operations outside of [the] UK, as seen with previously established UK manufacturers such as Ford and Mini."
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