Leading businessman John Neill has urged the Government to make Britain the best place in the world to make cars, writers David Duffy.

Mr Neill, chief executive of the Unipart Group of Companies and president of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said that the motor industry had "fantastic" potential.

But he said: "The challenge is to make sure that Britain can once again be the best place to make cars. That is not true today. It is certainly not a great place to make money."

Mr Neill was launching a new report "The Motor Industry: Its Impact on the UK Economy" by Prof Garel Rhys, of Cardiff University Business School, at the International Motor Show in Birmingham.

Mr Neill also warned against anti-foreign sentiment that had been whipped up recently over changes in the industry.

He said: "We need to convince the decision makers in the board rooms of Germany, Japan and France that we want them here. We have not done too good a job of that recently. We should understand that decisions about the location of new plants etc are not always made on the financial data.

"Sometimes the decisions are emotional. They are about the way the decision makers feel about us."

Mr Neill said the motor industry was one that Britain should be very proud of. It was the country's greatest wealth creator and he added: "The Government must nurture it. It is their interests to do so."

The report by Prof Rhys said that the net benefits of the industry to society were enormous. The report said: "Whichever way it is measured, and is spite of some road congestion, the positive impact of the industry is massive."

Prof Rhys said there had been a quiet and largely unrecognised revival in UK car making.