Vauxhall has refused to speculate on reports that the company’s Ellesmere Port plant is under threat.

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General Motors’ European chairman Carl-Peter Forster told the Sunday Times newspaper that the UK facility could be vulnerable in the battle to attract new models.


He reportedly told the newspaper at the Detroit Motor Show: “Future models have to be earned, although Ellesmere Port has improved a lot in recent years and the quality level is okay, its labour costs have increased.


“At Bochum, there is a long-term agreement not to change wage rates. We have to allocate the next Astra to its production sites by the end of 2007.”


Forster reportedly told the newspaper that five plants were in contention to build a new mid-sized model, but only four were needed. GM makes the Astra family at Ellesmere Port, Russelsheim and Bochum in Germany, and Antwerp in Belgium. The fifth plant in the running is former Saab factory Trollhatten, in Sweden, reported the Sunday Times.

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When contacted by just-auto, Vauxhall spokesperson Tom Barnard said: “We have nothing to announce about the allocation of a future product or a specific product allocation process. It is much too early to speculate on a model generation this far in advance.


“This approach is in the best interests of the company and its brands and is the most responsible way for GM to serve all of our stakeholders – including our employees. We will continue to work together to face the challenges of tomorrow.”


The Ellesmere Port factory currently employs 3,300 people and produces the Astra, one of the UK’s best-selling cars.