A cutting-edge test centre is poised to put Cumbria at the forefront of developing a new generation of electric and hybrid cars.

Bosses at M-Sport believe the rapidly-growing market for more environmentally-friendly vehicles could prove a lucrative one for its new £19m evaluation centre.

Work is well under way on building the complex – the only one of its kind in the UK – at the rally and motorsport company’s Dovenby Hall headquarters, near Cockermouth.

Technology from major manufacturers including Tesla and Ford is set drive the electric and hybrid market at even greater speed.

Ford this week announced that it wants electric and autonomous cars to account for 20 per cent of its United States sales by 2030.

M-Sport believes that its secluded setting at Dovenby will make it the ideal place for manufacturers to develop their technology – and interest is already emerging.

Security representatives from a number of firms have already visited the site.

M-Sport managing director Malcom Wilson said: “The new evaluation centre will allow M-Sport to target motor manufacturers searching for privacy to develop and evaluate hybrid and electric vehicle technology.

“I’ve seen and been hugely impressed by what companies like Tesla are doing and we see this centre as somewhere to really drive innovation for the future.

“I’ve had expressions of interest from a few manufacturers and they all seemed impression with our location in Cumbria. It’s the perfect site which will offer technical resource and an evaluation track – all with the important element of privacy.”

Work to build M-Sport’s new centre, which overcame a number of objections to get the go-ahead, started in May and has already seen more than 200,000 tonnes of earth moved to clear the land and build four metre-high sound attenuation bunds.The project is being led by Carlisle-based Northern developments, who currently have 35 groundworkers and plant operators on-site.

Martyn Boak, of Northern Developments, said: “The groundworks stage has been a mammoth undertaking.

“Meeting the strict noise limitations means we’re creating special bunds and specially designed noise attenuation areas.”