A NEW engine that will power Ford cars of the future will be developed at the Dunton Technical Centre. 

The car giant has announced today its vehicle assembly plant in Southampton, which builds the current Transit van, and stamping and tooling operations in Dagenham will close, but remains committed to operations at Dunton.

Initial project work has already started on the new next-generation, low-CO2, 2litre diesel engine, which will power future Ford vehicles from 2016.

The project will also secure 3,500 engineering, design, admin and support jobs at Dunton.