The Financial Times brings news that GM is studying Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port plant on Merseyside as a European production base for what will be known stateside as the Chevy Volt. Easy jokes about an all-electric British-manufactured car aside, this news comes contrary to earlier reports that Volt production would be centered solely in Hamtramck, MI. So, how can Ellesmere Port lock down Volt production? Easy: Government subsidies!
According to the Times, Carl-Peter Forster, president of GM Europe indicated "a climate of tangible government goodwill towards the project would be influential in making a decision," which is a quintessentially British way of saying, "tax breaks, please." Regardless, having Volt production centered in the U.K. could be worth it to the local economy, since GM estimates that only one facility will be required to accommodate demand under all three Euro brands likely to get a Volt: Vauxhall, Chevy and Opel. [Financial Times]