Ford Motor on Thursday cried foul over Germany’s €1.5bn (£1.3bn) government-backed bridge financing for General Motors’ Opel arm, warning that it could tilt the playing field in favour of its struggling US competitor.

John Fleming, head of Ford’s European arm, also said he was “very concerned” about the French government’s €6.8bn loans to PSA Peugeot Citroën and Renault, and urged the European Union to “maintain proper oversight” of burgeoning national and pan-European aid plans for the car industry.