Latest news with #carfactory
BBC News
08-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Calls for 'written commitment' over Lotus's Norfolk factory
A council leader has called for "a written commitment" over the future of the Lotus car factory and warned the area could not "afford to lose" suggested the company's owners, China-based Geely, were considering shutting the company's site at Hethel in Norfolk, where 1,300 people work.A statement from Lotus said the company had "no plans to close the factory" and following a meeting with Geely, Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he "was reassured".Conservative county council leader Kay Mason Billig said reassurances were "good news" but she still feared jobs were under threat. She echoed the concerns of South Norfolk's Labour MP Ben Goldsborough, who called for "openness" after talking to Geely representatives last the meeting, the Department for Business and Trade said Reynolds had "set out the government's commitment to working with Lotus and the wider car sector to improve competitiveness and drive growth". Along with South Norfolk District Council and the Norfolk Business Board, Mason Billig signed a letter asking Reynolds "to do what you can to obtain a written commitment from Geely to protect Lotus in the UK"."Lotus is a large employer and it's one of the bedrocks of Norfolk," she told the BBC."Everybody looks at Lotus and thinks 'Norfolk'. We can't afford to lose a factory of that size in this county."The letter also questioned the government's recently announced Modern Industrial Chancellor Rachel Reeves has called it a "10-year plan to deliver the certainty and stability businesses need to invest in the high growth sectors that will drive our growth mission". But the letter warned it was "predominantly focused on city regions, the North and the Midlands".It said whilst Norfolk had strengths in areas including the clean energy, agricultural technology and financial services sectors it was "overlooked", with much of the funding for the east aimed at Cambridge. Nova Fairbank, chief executive of the Norfolk Chambers of Commerce, said: "Cambridge has been so successful that people don't tend to look away from Cambridge."We have many high growth sectors and as a business community we stand ready to support economic growth and jobs in this region," she said its position had not changed and insisted there "are no plans to close the factory" in Hethel.A spokesman for the government said its Industrial Strategy "has introduced ambitious plans to drive growth and investment in every region of the UK, including Norfolk".They added: "The strategy builds on Norfolk and the East of England's strengths and will be developed further by upcoming plans for the Life Sciences, Defence and Financial Services sectors which will support Norwich's thriving and historic insurance industry." Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Sun
09-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Sun
Inside world's biggest car factory 3 times size of Monaco that is run by 5k robots & pumps out nearly one MILLION motors
THIS IS the gigantic German car factory that pumps out hundreds of thousands of vehicles a year with its army of robot engineers. The whopping Volkswagen plant, which can churn out up to a million cars a year, is three times the size of Monaco. 7 7 Based in Wolfsburg, the factory is one of the largest car manufacturing plants in the world. It boasts the biggest factory floor of anywhere on the planet. While it employs as around 70,000 people, much of the manufacturing work is carried out by its 5,000 robots. This team of robots assist human engineers across the various stage of car production, helping VW churn out many of its most popular car models. There are even stages in there process in which not a single person is involved at all. During car painting, poisonous fumes get released, so this is solely taken care of by the plant's robots. The plant also produces Volkswagen's tasty surprise bestseller - its own branded currywurst sausages. Despite being best known for its family cars, VW actually sold more sausages in 2024 than it did vehicles. 7 7 The delicious snack has been produced by a dedicated team at the plant since 1973. Dating back to 1938, the factory's staggering size allows it to maintain its high production capacity. The factory halls measure more than half a square mile, while its network of roads measure more than 45 miles - as well as an additional 37 kilometers of railway tracks. It has churned out many of VW's most iconic vehicles over the years, from the Beetle to the ever-popular Golf and Tiguan. Mass production of the Beetle began in 1945, and 10 years later it marked its one millionth unit of the car. But production ramped up further from there, with the factory celebrating its 10 millionth Golf on its 50th anniversary in 1988. The 15 millionth Golf would have its finishing touches done 22 years later in 2010. The plant typically produces around half a million cars a year according to its website, but it has reached not far south of a million in some years. It churned out 815,000 cars in 2015 alone. The vast factory is expected to be converted by 2030 into a multi-platform plant as automobile manufacturers all over the world prepare to ramp up electric car production. VW was ranked as the world's largest car manufacturer by revenue in 2023. 7
