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The Government is looking at a proposal to pump money into the finance arm of the motor industry.
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson was speaking as he toured Ford’s manufacturing plant in Bridgend.
Lord Mandelson said the British car sector was weak but did not need a bail-out.
“The Government is looking at a number of ways of helping the industry. One of the ideas that is being looked at is to help out the finance arms. We are looking at that to see whether it’s the best use of resources,” he said.
Lord Mandelson said he was very confident about the medium and long term.
“We’re doing everything we can in this country, we’ve saved the banks from collapse but now we’ve got to get them lending properly again. The crisis will be over quickly if we work together internationally.”
Lord Mandelson was engaged in a whistle-stop tour of the Bridgend plant, which makes 1.25-, 1.4- and 1.6-litre petrol engines for the Ford Fiesta and Focus models.
New £70m investment confirmed for Bridgend will bring the next generation of low CO2 engines to the site, which provide up to 20 per cent better fuel economy and 15 per cent lower CO2 emissions
Over the past five years, Ford has invested over £315m in Bridgend.