The owner of Vauxhall could announce as early as next week plans to build electric vans at its Ellesmere Port plant in Cheshire, the BBC understands.
The investment, said to be worth hundreds of millions of pounds, would safeguard about 1,000 factory jobs, reports BBC.
The future of the plant had been in doubt after Vauxhall’s parent company, Stellantis, scrapped plans to build a new Astra model there.
Nissan this week said it will make new electric cars at its Sunderland plant.
Stellantis has been discussing options for the site with the UK government for several months, and is known to have been seeking financial support for its plans.
Sales of vans have been booming during the pandemic, as a result of growing home delivery sales.
Stellantis is the world’s fifth-largest car maker and also owns Peugeot, Fiat and Chrysler.
The push into electric vehicle manufacturing has grown since the UK and other European countries announced a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars as of 2030.
Nissan on Thursday announced a major expansion of electric vehicle production at its car plant in Sunderland which will create 1,650 new jobs.
The Japanese carmaker will build its new-generation all-electric model at the site as part of a £1bn investment that will also support thousands of jobs in the supply chain.
And Nissan’s partner, Envision AESC, will build an electric battery plant.
