Mark Milner, industrial editor

Britain's often hard-pressed automotive industry received a huge boost today after General Motors announced its Vauxhall plant at Ellesmere Port was one of the factories which had been chosen to build the next generation Astra.

The new car, codenamed Delta, will also be built at plants in Germany, Sweden and Poland but the Belgium plant at Antwerp, which also builds the current Astra will not be involved.

The news will be a relief for the 2,200 plus workforce at the north-west plant which makes only Astra models. Without winning work on the new model, Ellesmere Port would have closed when production of the current Astra is halted at the end of the decade.

Vauxhall said that the plant would produce around 180,000 cars from 2010 compared with 125,000 this year.

Unions welcomed the news. Tony Woodley, general secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union, described it as a vote of confidence in the workforce.

Mr Woodley, who used to work at the plant himself, said: "This is good news for Ellesmere Port and good news for Merseyside as well as being a boost for the car industry in the UK after too many disappointments.

"There is no doubt in my mind the most important reason behind Vauxhall's decision was the productivity, quality and commitment of the workforce," he said. "It is a strong indication that when we fight hard and fight together for manufacturing we win."