LONDON, July 22 (Reuters) - British authorities will hold talks with firm bidders for carmaker Vauxhall in an effort to protect UK production and its 5,500-strong workforce.
Business Secretary Peter Mandelson, speaking ahead of a tour of the company's 2,200-employee plant in Ellesmere Port in northwest England, also said he was in "constant contact" with the U.S. and German governments about the firm's future.
Vauxhall and German sister company Opel have been put up for sale by the European arm of General Motors (GM), which re-emerged from bankruptcy in a restructured form earlier this month.
GM Europe will hold talks with various European governments, including the UK, later this week.
"We are determined to continue our detailed discussions with RHJ, Magna and other interested parties to secure a long-term commercial future for Vauxhall," Mandelson said.
"(We) are in constant contact with the US and German governments and GM and others to ensure Britain's interests are fully represented," he added.
Canada's Magna remains Germany's preferred candidate of the three bidders for Opel, a German government spokesman said on Wednesday ahead of a meeting with GM representatives.
Mandelson was meeting Vauxhall management and unions at Ellesmere Port on Wednesday. The plant hopes to begin assembling the new Vauxhall Astra in September.
The Minister said at Vauxhall's other UK plant at Luton, north of London, earlier this month that the government was prepared to part-underwrite a takeover of GM Europe -- a move welcomed by trade union Unite.
(Reporting by John Bowker; editing by John Stonestreet)