General Motors yesterday bucked the trend among foreign car makers in Britain by announcing it is to invest £80m in its Ellesmere Port plant to build the new Astra - despite the uncertainty over entry to the euro, writes David Gow .

At a ceremony to mark the centenary of Vauxhall, GM's UK subsidiary, chairman and chief executive Rick Wagoner said: "The euro is not a do or die issue for us as regards investment." Launching the VX Lightning roadster, Vauxhall's first concept car for 25 years, he said: "If the five economic tests are met we agree that moving into the single currency would take some uncertainty off the table." He said currency issues were not the biggest factor affecting investment; product range and closeness to market were more important. Britain is GM's biggest European market, with 350,000 sales last year.