The company that owns Vauxhall has warned it may have to halt production in Britain unless the government does more to boost demand for electric vehicles (EV).

Maria Grazia Davino, the boss of Stellantis, which also owns Citroen and Peugeot, said UK rules banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035 were too tough.

She said a decision about whether to close Stellantis’s plants in Ellesmere Port near Liverpool and Luton could come in “less than a year”.

“Stellantis UK does not stop, but Stellantis production in the UK could stop,” she told reporters at an industry conference.

The UK government initially set a goal of 2030 to ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars, but had to delay the plan by five years to give consumers more time to make the transition to electric vehicles.

Explaining the decision, the prime minister said the “upfront cost” of EVs was still too high.

Stellantis makes electric vans at its Ellesmere Port plant and has previously said it will start making electric vans at its Luton plant in 2025.