The Car Hub

General Motors has made a U-turn and decided not to sell its European subsidiary Opel in view of "an improving business environment for GM over the past few months and the importance of Opel/Vauxhall to GM's global strategy". So how does that affect GM operations in South Africa? It won't, says GMSA communications manager Denise van Huyssteen.
"We continue with business as usual," she said. "Opel remains an important brand to our business and we will continue to look for opportunities to introduce exciting new Opel products to SA." GM in the US will now have to begin restructuring its European operations in earnest Opel continues to out-perform predictions . Company president Fritz Henderson said today:
"We will soon present our restructuring plan to Germany and other governments and hope for their its favourable consideration. "We understand the complexity and length of this issue has been draining for all involved," the media statement sent to motoring.co.za said, "but our goal has always been to secure the best long-term solution for our customers, employee, suppliers and dealers."
The GM plan entails total restructuring expenses of about €3-billion (R23-billion), significantly lower than any of the bids submitted. The company says it will work with the European labour unions to develop a plan for their contributions to Opel's restructuring. While Opel continues to out-perform predictions and immediate liquidity is stable, it says, time is of the essence.
Henderson said: "The business environment in Europe has improved, as have GM's overall financial health and stability, giving us confidence that the European business can be successfully restructured. "We are grateful for the hard work of the German and other EU governments in navigating this difficult economic period and we appreciate the effort put in by Magna and its partners in Russia."