Britain could win the second contract to be the sole European manufacturer of mass-market "green" cars.

The head of Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port plant said the factory was a front-runner to win the contract to build Vauxhall/Opel's new electric saloon car under its new owner Magna.

Last month, arch-rival Toyota chose its plant near Derby to build the new generation of half-electric, half-petrol Auris hatchbacks in a major boost to Britain's green engineering credentials.

Today, Tom Schmidt said Ellesmere Port could soon be chosen to build the Ampera, the European version of General Motors' electric-powered Volt.

Vauxhall/Opel's Astra plants across Europe are vying for the job-saving project.

"We're in a position to win it," Schmidt told Bloomberg. "But there are other Astra plants throughout Europe that would have the same ability, so we need to make sure the plant is efficient and there's a reason to build it there."

Ellesmere Port faces a crunch time when the Astra model is replaced in 2015 and factory contracts for Vauxhall/Opel's most successful model come up for renewal again.

Schmidt said the plant needed to sell far more Astra models worldwide.