Toyota announced on Thursday that the new Avensis car is to be built at its Burnaston factory near Derby, safeguarding nearly 5,000 jobs at the plant.

But the Japanese carmaker gave warning that reduced working — the factory has lost a shift because of falling demand — would continue for the forseeable future until demand increased.

Production of the car, unveiled at the Paris Motor Show, will begin next month and it will go on sale throughout Europe in January. Toyota hopes that it will revive some sales in the UK and Europe, believing that motorists may have been deterred from buying the old Avensis as it neared the end of its cycle.

The company will pump investment into Burnaston to produce the new model but it would not say how much. The engines and transmission systems will be built in Poland.Toyota launched the Avensis in 1991 when it opened the Burnaston factory, joining Nissan and Honda in setting up operations in Britain.

It expects that the European market will decline by 10 per cent this year. There have been sharp falls over the past few months in some areas, including the UK and Spain.

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