Inside Luton’s other big team as town’s Vauxhall plant chalks up 1.5million Vivaro-based vans

LUTON is party central this week.

Hatters promoted to the Premier League, Vauxhall factory chalks up 1.5 MILLION Vivaro-based vans.

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The current build rate is one every 141 seconds – about the time it takes to boil a kettle for a brew – or 507 a day.

They’re on for a record 100,000 this year and it sounds like 2024 will be even busier.

Factory boss Mark Noble said: “With growing demand we should be able to hit 124,000 to 127,000 vans next year.” Result.

For those who don’t know or have forgotten, Luton now makes mid-size vans for FIVE Stellantis-owned brands.

Alongside Vauxhall and Opel-badged Vivaros, you’ll see Peugeot Expert, Citroen Dispatch and Fiat Scudo vans all rolling out of the factory gates. Most are exported.

Noble tells me he started his career at Kimpton Road making the Vauxhall Cavalier back in 1988.

Now he’s working his socks off to keep the plant running beyond 2028 when today’s Vivaro is due to be replaced.

‘Navigate this minefield’

He has already played a blinder by securing the future of Vauxhall’s other UK plant at Ellesmere Port.

It will start making Combo Electric and other small battery-powered vans in the next few months.

His next task is to convince anyone who’ll listen that Luton should be upgraded to make diesel and electric vans side-by-side.

I’m guessing that’ll require around £70million of investment and funding, the cost of a decent Premier League striker.

Luton has been making Vauxhall cars and vans since 1905.

Noble said: “You have to be positive. Working with the Government, working with Luton borough council, who are brilliant, working with MPs, we have to navigate our way through this minefield and ensure this place is successful.

“Because, quite frankly, the jobs of 2,000 people rest on us doing our jobs. Then you think about Luton – and the money these people bring into the town. It would be a disaster for any town to lose a major employer.

“The BBC did an interview with people from Ellesmere Port. They didn’t work in the car plant, but they had jobs that depended on the car plant workers’ money – plumbers, shopkeepers and so on.

“I started my career here at Luton and I want to give something back. I felt we did that at Ellesmere and now we’ve got to do the same for Luton.

“We’ve got a fantastic product but we need to be cost competitive and we have to ensure through our competitiveness that we are sustainable.”

I’ll chip in here.

The UK car industry is at a critical point and the Government needs to sort rules of origin (where parts are made) and gigafactories to supply batteries.

And it needs to do it yesterday. We’re already years behind with the charging infrastructure.

Back to Luton and the 1.5 millionth Vivaro will be delivered to Virgin Media O2.

Let’s hope the driver’s door speaker doesn’t rattle because I fitted it.

Vauxhall UK chief James Taylor said: “We’re incredibly proud to see Vivaro reach such an important milestone and I’d like to thank everyone who has helped achieve this.”

They’re probably reading this nursing the mother of all hangovers.

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