Jean Martin Folz today became the latest car boss to cast doubt on the future of a UK plant. The chairman of PSA Peugeot Citroen said a decision on Peugeot's Ryton plant would be taken in 2004 when PSA would have to decide whether to invest in a new paint shop.

“I hope by then Britain's decision on whether to enter the eurozone will have been taken,” Folz said. Ryton is “not a major PSA production plant”. It is making only 206 but that was a “considerable success”.

“We will continue Ryton production for quite some time and it is possible that someday we will also assemble Citroens there.”

Mr Folz was speaking earlier today at PSA's plant at Rennes in Brittany which is building the C5 which goes on sale in the UK in April.

His doubts will be a further blow to the car production in the UK which has been battered by the recent GM decision to end car production at Luton and Nissan's continued refusal to end the doubts about whether it's Sunderland plant will be home to the new Micra despite yesterday's approval by the EU of a UK government aid package of £40 million.