Vauxhall is proud of its long history in the UK. It started its domestic operations in 1903 in the south London district from which it took its name before moving to its current home of Luton in 1905. It started building vans there in 1987.

The manufacturer seldom misses an opportunity to flag-up the fact that it is the nation’s leading producer of LCVs. It’s a position it has held since Vivaro production started in 2001, and in this regard 2014 will be a key year for the brand with the launch of the second-generation medium van.

The Luton plant will make all the models for the UK and mainland Europe – where the vehicle will be badged Opel Vivaro – bar the niche high-roof version, which will be assembled in

Renault’s Sandouville factory near Le Havre. The Luton plant, Vauxhall explains, is not set up to build high-roof models. That derivative will be produced alongside the Renault Trafic, the Vivaro’s sister model, which represents a departure since the French company’s previous- generation model was built in Luton, together with a smaller number of the Nissan Primastar, which shares the same DNA. Mike Wright, the site’s plant manager, admits that under the current arrangement 31% of the factory’s output bears the Renault badge. This will change next year.

Vauxhall’s boss, Duncan Aldred, says: “We will only build Vauxhall [vans] here so it will have a volume impact.” But, since Opel Vivaro

models destined for 18 European markets will be built at Luton, he points out: “We are going across Europe with Opel.”

Vauxhall has invested €95m (£82m) in upgrading the Luton factory for the new Vivaro with almost half of this sum spent on developing a new bodyshop in what was previously a store warehouse. The work included relaying the entire floor with concrete over a two-month period. The manufacturer has also spent €112m (£96m) on the supply chain network including €34m (£29m) in the UK. It claims 40% of parts for the new van will be UK-sourced with more than half of these coming from within a 100-mile radius of the plant, which has a 1400-strong workforce.

Aldred says Vauxhall will tailor production volumes of the new Vivaro to fit demand, which he claims is growing in the UK but declining elsewhere in Europe.

Hundreds and thousands

The facility churned out 53,000 vans last year and has assembled 22,000 in the first half of 2013. Production is currently running at 198 units a day, and in July the Luton plant reached a milestone, when the 900,000th medium-sized van based on the Vauxhall Vivaro/Renault Traffic/Nissan Primastar platform rolled off the assembly line and into service with the AA.

The AA has ordered 356 Vivaros in a deal worth £4m, representing 75% of its fleet renewal for 2013, according to president Edmund King. All the vans come equipped with fuel-saving Ecoflex technology.