ANDREW Miller has played down reports that Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port plant will step up production to a three-shift system.
The Ellesmere Port and Neston MP described the rumours in the national press as pure ‘speculation’ although he believes it is something the North Road factory should be targeting.
He says talks with General Motors (GM) will take place over the next fortnight, after which the carmaker’s plans should become more clear.
Mr Miller said: “It’s all speculation, but GM are more likely to revert back to their original plan for Europe which is better for us than the Magna deal.
“At this stage we don’t want to raise people’s hopes. We have to make sure we maximise the position we have.”
Last week, GM decided to scrap the sale of Vauxhall to Canadian car parts firm Magna due to ‘an improving business environment’.
Union chiefs have been quick to welcome the move, while Andrew Miller says that if GM sticks to its original business model, drawn up prior to the company filing for bankruptcy protection in the US, a total of 180,000 cars would be built in Ellesmere Port compared with 147,500 proposed under the Magna deal.
During a meeting at the plant last week, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: “I met with the managing director of Vauxhall and the fact that General Motors want to stay with Vauxhall is really good news.
“The fact they have the Astra model, and thay they have plans for low carbon cars and hybrid cars, means the North West could be a huge European leader in the next stage of cars.”
