Investment in British plant will produce new Vivaro by 2019

PSA group, which completed its acquisition of Vauxhall last year, is investing in its Luton plant as part of a plan which will see a new Vivaro van based on a sharedpsagroupplatform.

The investment will increase the plant’s production capacity to 100,000 vehicles per year based on PSA Group’s EMP2 platform, up by 40,000.

The decision follows dialogue between PSA Group, Unite, UK Government and Luton Borough Council.

“Performance is the trigger for sustainability and I wouldliketothankallstakeholdersinvolvedandunderlinetheopenmindsetofour union partners, as well as thatoftheukgovernment,” said Carlos Tavares, Chairmanofthemanagingboard PSA Group

Mike Hawes, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) Chief Executive, welcomed the news: “This announcement is great news for the UK automotive sector and, especially, the Luton plant. The UK continues to be a centre of excellence for production thanks to our engineering expertise, high productivity and a collaborativerelationshipwith government.”