Ellesmere Port union convenor John Fetherstone welcomed Mr Henderson’s remarks, saying: "If actions speak louder than words, that must shout and scream ‘bring the Ampera to Ellesmere Port’.

"Productivity levels at Ellesmere Port have increased over the years, and our quality and cost per car are up there with the best."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Business Secretary Lord Mandelson have championed Ellesmere Port as the natural home of the Ampera. in GM’s network of European car plants.

They have indicated to GM, Government funding would be available for training and development if the Cheshire plant was awarded the new model.

Ampera will be built initially in America, but industry sources say production could be switched to a European plant within two years as build costs fall and demand for "green" vehicles grows.

Mr Henderson revealed that the European business lost $400m (£239m) in the latest figures published by the group, but he said GM has benefited from scrappage schemes in the UK and Germany which offer financial incentives for drivers to ditch old vehicles for new.

And he pledged there will be no further cuts in production levels in Europe: "We have substantially reduced inventories and our inventory position in Europe is the best we have ever had there, we are very lean – we are not going to have to take inventory down further."

GM revealed it had made a loss of $1.2bn (£720m) in the period from July 10 to September 30, but said it had laid a "solid foundation" for future growth.

The company said it was making "continued progress on structural cost reductions" as it continues its battle to cope with the slump in the worldwide car market.