PRODUCTION of Ford-badged cars will reach the end of the road in Britain when output of the Fiesta finishes at Dagenham in 2002, company president and chief executive Jac Nasser has confirmed. 'We will not return to the manufacture of cars with the blue oval in the UK,' said Nasser at the North American International Auto Show.

'It is not necessary because we have sufficient capacity already in Europe and we are getting more efficient in all our existing facilities.' Speaking during a tour of the company's large stand at the Detroit event, he described Ford's trading situation in the UK as 'steady as she goes'.

He added: 'Our pricing realignments have been implemented well. We have new product in place and I think 2001 will be a good year for us. Having said that, I think there's probably more pain to come as we continue with carrying out major structural changes to our business. We still have a lot of hard work to do. But after a decade of hard work, Jaguar is a good brand and it's now time for the company to enjoy having a lot of good products in the marketplace. There's also a lot more to come.'