Autocar magazine has named Ford Europe the Car Company of the Year 2007 at a ceremony held in Westminster.
The event, which was attended by hundreds of members of the motor industry from around the world, also saw the company's retiring chief technical officer Richard Parry-Jones receive the Editor's Award for Excellence.
Chas Hallet, editor at the magazine, said that the automotive industry is "often an easy target" for criticism and is sometimes "unjustly blamed" for a number of things.
However, the industry employs some 800,000 people in the UK and helps to generate £47 billion a year, he commented.
"It is - and will always be - one of the UK’s most vital industrial assets. We damage it at our peril," he remarked.
In related news, Ford recently performed well at the British Car Auctions Nottingham event, selling 200 vehicles on November 6th.
Paul Bolton, Ford's direct brand and remarketing manager, described the sale as "exceptional".
