BMW will build its next generation of Minis in Britain in a move that will help safeguard more than 5,000 jobs, the company said.

The German car giant said it will be investing another £500 million in UK car manufacturing in a move David Cameron said is a "tremendous vote of confidence" in the workforce.

The firm would not confirm how much would be spent in Oxford, but it is believed to be a vast majority of the cash.

New production facilities and equipment are to be installed at the Mini assembly base in Oxford, the pressings plant in Swindon and its engine plant at Hams Hall near Birmingham.

The announcement came as the Prime Minister prepared to meet the board of directors of the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) in Downing Street.

On Wednesday, Japanese car giant Nissan said it is to invest £192 million to build the next version of its Qashqai model in Britain. That is expected to safeguard 6,000 UK jobs.

Mr Cameron said the announcements are evidence that the Government is helping rebalance the British economy with a strengthened manufacturing sector.

"The production and export of iconic British cars like the Mini is making a real contribution to the rebalancing of the economy that this government is determined to achieve," he said.

"It's a tremendous vote of confidence in the skills and capabilities of the company's British workforce and in the future of UK manufacturing.

"The Mini plant in Oxford has been one of our great manufacturing success stories, they should be hugely proud of their achievements. They have shown once again that the UK is a major player in the global automotive industry."

The new Mini coupe is to be launched in 2011 and the Mini Roadster in 2012. Both are to be produced in Oxford, where more than 2 million Minis have been built since 2001 - three-quarters of them for export. The company said it had invested £1.5 billion in the UK since 2000.