Vauxhall Commercial Vehicles has joined the Made in Britain campaign and marked the partnership by adding the official badge to all Luton-built Vauxhall Vivaro models.
The Made in Britain Campaign was founded in 2011 with the aim of helping everyone identify British-made products.
The not-for-profit campaign now includes thousands of products from more than 700 members, ranging from large manufacturers to small companies and start-ups.
CEO of the Made in Britain Campaign, John Pearce commented: “The campaign team are really excited to celebrate the success of Vivaro and see thousands more Made in Britain badges out there on Vauxhall’s vans.
“It is definitely going to accelerate our membership towards this year’s #1000makers target. We want all British manufacturers, big and small, to join our campaign and apply the trademark-protected Made in Britain logo on their goods, their packaging and online. The more people know about where products are made, the easier it is for them to choose to buy British.”
Last year, Vauxhall manufactured 60,280 Vivaro vans at its plant in Luton, with 28,000 of those sold in the UK.
More than 8 million vehicles have been built at Vauxhall’s Luton site since 1905. Following the closure of the Ford Southampton factory in 2013, Vauxhall’s is the sole flag bearer for UK van manufacturing.
Vauxhall’s chairman and managing director, Rory Harvey explained: “We are very proud of our 113-year heritage of building vehicles in Britain, and being part of this campaign is a great way to communicate this.
“The Made in Britain campaign does a brilliant job of reminding customers that we have a highly-skilled workforce on our doorstep, producing thousands of high quality products.”
Vauxhall’s all-new Vivaro was launched in 2014, securing 1,500 jobs at the UK’s only dedicated light commercial vehicle plant after workers won a ten-year contract and a £185m investment.
Thanks to the outstanding attitude and work ethic of the workforce, the Luton plant beat world class competition from across Europe to build the new van.
Vauxhall’s commitment to UK manufacturing has given suppliers across the country a huge lift thanks to £600m of new business over the life of the Vivaro and 40% of content for the van being sourced locally from British firms.
This is an increase of 60% on the outgoing model and means other UK businesses benefit from the investment and job security that come from Vauxhall winning the contract to build the new van.
And this great British success story doesn’t end there. The Vivaro was designed by a team led by Luton-born Malcolm Ward. In his role as Vauxhall/Opel’s design director, Ward follows in the footsteps of his father and grandfather who both worked at Vauxhall.
