Peugeot in Coventry: the good news - Andrew Noakes - Motoring Writer

You'd be forgiven for thinking that Peugeot had shut up shop in Coventry, but not only is it still very much a presence, it's investing millions in the city - a story which doesn't get its fair share of coverage.

Coventry has been Peugeot's UK epicentre since the French company bought the ailing Rootes Group from Chrysler in 1978. But the assembly plant at Ryton, near Coventry, was closed a few months ago, and to go by the media coverage you'd think it had left Coventry completely.

But Ryton wasn't Peugeot's only presence in the area: up the road at Stoke Aldermoor, Peugeot still operates a plant which was originally the home of Hillman (in more ways than one: William Hillman set up the car making factory in the grounds of his home, Aldermoor House).

And that plant is now the subject of a £50million investment which will turn it into a state-of-the-art headquarters for Peugeot in Britain. Glass-fronted offices are just the start: it'll be accompanied by an urban village which will regenerate a whole area of Coventry city.

It's just a shame that the story never gets told and Peugeot are painted as the villains in Coventry, when the reality is very different.

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