A £100 million redevelopment by global automotive component business Astemo to its UK manufacturing plant is on track to finish next April as planned, and the company says it is already attracting interest from potential new customers.
The site, in Bolton, will house two new inverter production lines to support the next generation of electric vehicle (EV) powertrains. The upgrade is scheduled to create 125 new jobs and safeguard another 100. More than 20 roles have already been filled, with recruitment for the remainder underway.
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News of the redevelopment work was first announced in July 2025, and several major project milestones have been hit. They include:
- Around 80% of site by footprint upgraded to accommodate new production lines and supporting infrastructure
- First inverter production line installed and commissioned on time
- Pre-production builds for contracted OEM customer achieved on time
Two senior leaders of the Astemo busines, Mathieu Devillard, executive vice president, head of electrification business, who is based in Japan, and Doug Bowling, regional head of europe were recently hosted in Bolton by Lee Owens, Astemo UK managing director, who said: “Twelve months on from the first announcement of this upgrade, start of production for our contracted OEM customer remains on target for April 2027.
“Furthermore, creation of what will be state-of-the-art production facilities, staffed by highly trained new personnel, continues to attract attention from the wider UK automotive industry. This is great news for Astemo and the north-west UK region. What we are building in Bolton will support future quoting opportunities and potential growth for Astemo.”
Mathieu Devillard added: “It is amazing to see the progress which has been made since I last visited the Bolton site. Astemo globally manufactures advanced mobility, powertrain, and chassis systems across more than 100 sites. The Bolton investment marks the fourth country in which we manufacture innovative EV components, following Japan, the US and China.”
Andy Burnham, former Mayor of Manchester and now UK Prime Minister, has been a key supporter of the project since its inception. He previously met Devillard during a regional trade mission to Japan, and has commented publicly on the impact the development will have on the local economy.
The two new Bolton production lines can manufacture more than a million inverters every year. Astemo UK’s next-generation inverters have been purpose-engineered to deliver excellent efficiency, while being both compact and lightweight for easy powertrain integration. By manufacturing the equipment in Europe, the product will comply with the green procurement policies of major regional OEMs and can contribute to an overall reduction in Scope 3 emissions throughout the supply chain.
The Bolton investment – which is valued at more than £100 million in total – is backed by the UK Government via the Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF), led by the Department for Business and Trade in partnership with the Advanced Propulsion Centre. Under the government’s DRIVE35 programme, the ATF will continue to unlock private investment in strategic zero-emission vehicle technologies in the UK.
Key suppliers for all renovation works, plus the creation of a new cleanroom on site, were from the North West, although the project is global in nature, with resources from Astemo operations across Japan, China and mainland Europe used to support the design, manufacturing and programme management.
Astemo’s Bolton site first opened in 1997 and was previously extended in 2007. It has produced a varied portfolio of alternators, throttle bodies and pumps for the automotive industry. For more than 20 years the core business was air flow sensors and electronic control units (ECUs), while production of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) components began in 2020. Air flow sensors and ECU production has now ended to enable the site to focus on inverters.
