A massive employee training programme of almost 30,000 total hours is underway at Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port plant to ensure the new Vectra is launched with the highest quality standards.

The quality drive is part of a £200m investment to transform the Cheshire plant into a 'flex' facility, where it will produce the Vectra alongside Astra models. Representatives from every workstation along the production line are receiving 'hands-on' training in the lead-up to full production next April.

"With the introduction of the Vectra, we will be producing two models and a mix of bodystyles in hundreds of different customer specifications," said Nigel Allen, Vectra project manager. "This demands more flexibility at virtually every stage of the assembly process. The training and motivation of our people to produce a quality car is more important than ever before and by making sure a large number see and touch the new model at this stage, the Ellesmere Port plant is doing its bit to make the Vectra launch a success."

For most of this year, a team of around 30 engineers and production experts have been working with German counterparts at the Vectra 'home' plant in Rüsselsheim, Germany, to share ideas and problem-solve, while a team of Germans is assigned to Ellesmere Port.