EUROPE’S largest police car factory has opened in the UK with Vauxhall’s new 999 plant at its manufacturing plant in Luton.

The factory will convert 2,500 vehicles per year, including cars and vans, for use by police forces and fire and ambulance services nationwide.

Bringing 50 new jobs to Luton, the new facility has been created after moving production in-house from its previous location in Millbrook, Bedfordshire.

Supplier firms around the country also benefit with 90% of blue-light content – the materials used to convert a standard car in to a police car – sourced locally from UK suppliers. Local firms include Border Engineering in Luton who make brackets and AV Engineering in Royston who make fascia mouldings.

An array of Vauxhalls will be converted for use by the emergency services at the Luton facility with cars including Corsa, Astra, Insignia and Mokka, and CVs, such as Combo, Movano and the Luton-built Vivaro vans.

Vauxhall is the only manufacturer to offer a one-stop shop for blue-light vehicles. Everything is done in-house from testing to converting and even remarketing of decommissioned vehicles.

Policing has changed dramatically in recent years with new types of crimes and the increased terror threat. With technology like 4G Wi-Fi and rugged Toughbook tablets, Vauxhall can offer the emergency services everything they need to stay connected on the move.

“Through our flexible production facility, Vauxhall is able to offer a one-stop shop purchasing experience to UK emergency services,” said Dick Ellam, Vauxhall’s manager, special vehicles.

“We can deliver a wide choice of car and van models, specifically designed and rigorously-tested to meet the stringent demands of our emergency services.

“We can also supply turn-key vehicle solutions that enable rapid turnaround of replacement vehicles, plus we can now offer a unique in-house de-commissioning and re-marketing service.”

Vauxhall is the number one supplier to Police fleets with a 70 per cent market share of competitive segments.