The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has reasserted Vauxhall’s claim of being a “British Brand since 1903” in its latest TV marketing campaign.

Viewers wrote to the advertising watchdog to challenge the statement, which appeared at the end of a recent advert of the new Corsa hatchback, in light of Vauxhall’s previous US owner General Motors (GM) and current French owner Stellantis.

After Vauxhall Motors Ltd issued a response stating that the Vauxhall brand was a UK-registered entity, which bult cars in Britain and sold Vauxhall-branded vehicles exclusively in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the ASA rebuffed the claims, however.

Vauxhall said in its statement that it had always built vehicles in Britain, adding that the fact that Vauxhall’s parent company, Stellantis was neither British nor based in the UK did not change the fact that Vauxhall was a British brand, the ASA said

Despite uncertainty surrounding the future of the Astra-producing Ellesmere car plant for a number of years, the ASA said Stellantis had “maintained their support for Vauxhall as a British entity so much that Vauxhall was now making a profit under its new owners”.