Vauxhall slashes losses

Vauxhall's Astra is one of Britain's best selling cars

Car giant Vauxhall has said it halved its pre-tax losses to £51.4m ($86m) in 2002 - the year it shut one of its two main production plants in the UK.

Vauxhall, which is owned by US car giant General Motors, said losses had fallen back from £100.9m in 2001.

The company, whose UK staff are mainly employed at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, producing Astras and Vectras, shut its 97-year-old Luton plant last March.

It said strong competition in the sector continued to hit profitability.

However, Vauxhall's Corsa and Astra models were among the top four selling cars in the UK last month.

The company employs around 5,800 workers Britain.