FORD is preparing to invest £1.5 billion in its four UK facilities over the next five years after securing a £360 million Government loan guarantee. Secretary of State for Business Peter Mandelson announced the £360 million backing of Ford's £450 million application to the European Investment Bank at the company's Dagenham site. Support from the government is a major step in seeking loan approval from the EIB which will allow Ford to proceed with its UK investment strategy. Dagenham is one of four UK sites covering research, development and manufacture of low-CO2 technology for both cars and commercial vehicles. Ford's research and development centre in Dunton, Essex, is the country's largest automotive engineering facility, and Ford products are assembled in Dagenham, Southampton and Bridgend. Dagenham's diesel engines emitting as little as 98g/km, feature in the Fiesta and Focus ECOnetic models, technology that has been extended to Ford's commercial vehicles including the Southampton-produced Ford Transit ECOnetic which went on sale last year. Ford Bridgend is gearing up for production of the new EcoBoost petrol engine, which will offer CO2 and fuel savings of up to 20 per cent compared with conventional petrol-engine technology. It will debut in the new Ford C-MAX this autumn. Ford of Britain chairman Joe Greenwell said: "Ford welcomes this positive support from the Government. It greatly assists in delivering Ford's commitment to invest £1.5 billion in new, affordable, volume-produced low CO2 technologies. "Our customers will benefit from this extensive investment and so too will the 100,000 people in the UK whose jobs are directly or indirectly dependent on Ford. “The loan also encourages the growth of high-technology, CO2-reducing research and development in the country. "But perhaps most importantly the overall environment will benefit thanks to the mass-deployment, volume-produced emission-reducing technologies from Ford.” | 
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