Vauxhall to revive Manta nameplate on new EV

Vauxhall will use its classic Manta name for a purely electric car, the firm has announced.

The original Manta wore the Opel badge, however, this new version – which will arrive ‘in the mid-decade’ – will be badged as a fully-fledged Vauxhall.

Vauxhall says that the new electric car will be a ‘fascinating and astoundingly spacious new interpretation of a classic’, though hasn’t given any further details in terms of technology or electric range.

It comes alongside a wider pledge by the firm to go fully electric by 2028, with an electrified version of every model it offers made available by 2024.

Currently, Vauxhall offers ten electric models, ranging from the Corsa-e right the way up to Movano-e electric van. Vauxhall also states that its newly-introduced Astra will also be available as a fully electric model from 2023, with both hatch and estate – badged Astra-e and Astra-e Sport Tourer respectively – being added to the range.

Both Crossland and Insignia models will also switch to battery-powered only.

It comes as part of the wider Stellantis group’s pledge to go fully electric in Europe by 2026 and introduce 75 new battery-powered models worldwide by 2030.

To help drive this increase, Stellantis, Vauxhall-Opel, Total/Saft and Mercedes-Benz have partnered up to create the ‘Automotive Cells Company’ to help with ‘developing and producing high-performance batteries for the automotive industry’. It has already pledged to increase capacity at a plant in Kaiserslautern, Germany.