GM Board Decides to Keep Opel
The saga continues
By Michael Gauthier
November 4, 2009 3:58 PM
Filed Under: American, Corporate/Financial, General Motors, Industry, Opel, Vauxhall
In a surprise move, GM's board of directors has decided to keep Opel. While details are scarce, the board believes Opel and Vauxhall are vital to the success of General Motors.
As you may recall, a 55% share of Opel was put up for sale shortly after GM went into bankruptcy. After months of review, GM announced Opel would be sold to a joint-venture lead by Magna International.
The decision to keep Opel likely caused a few curse words to spill out in Berlin, as the government had promised to provide 4.5 billion euros ($6.58 billion) worth of funding to Magna. According to a government spokesman, Ulrich Wilhelm, "The government regrets the decision of the General Motors board to restructure Opel itself and to keep it in the group." Several officials are now demanding that GM repay 1.5 billion euros ($2.2 billion) in bridge financing provided by German state banks.
Regardless, CEO Fritz Henderson stated "GM will soon present its restructuring plan to Germany and other governments and hopes for its favorable consideration. This was deemed to be the most stable and least costly approach for securing Opel/Vauxhall's long-term future." This likely means GM will be lobbying the German government for some of the money promised to Magna.
While Opel had been a critical partner for the ill-fated Saturn brand, GM is now positioning the company as a key player for Chevrolet and Buick. The upcoming Buick Regal and next-generation Chevrolet Malibu will be heavily based on the Opel Insignia, not to mention the recently nixed Vue-ick was basically a rebadged Opel Antara.
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Comments
It's so sad, GM is so unseriously with it's decisions. Opel don't will have a chance to come on. New partners here, new position there.. I can imagine, if GM will keep the Adam Opel AG as the leading company in the concern beside Chevrolet and Holden, the whole structure will be stabilised. But they have to invest in this brand in europe. There is the basic of success. Germans factories are scared about the imagine, GM will limit their production. This might be the completely wrong turn
Edited by user on November 4, 2009 at 4:55 PM
you could take all the Opel models, rebrand them as upmarket cars in the USA and make a decent mark up off them. (they used to do that - the Opel Omega used to be a Caddy.) i know somebody's going to say, "look at Saturn! it didn't work for them!"
my rebuttal would be that dooming the cars to a failing marque was a stupid plan in the first place. Opel has the chance to make a lot of money. they have strong engines (particularly diesel and small petrol engines), new technology and good build quality. these are all things missing from GM's US lineup.
European engineers are better at their job than American ones, and that's been proven time and time again through the auto products that have been coming out of Europe compared to the US for the past 20 or 30 years. (and before you cite the Chevvy Corvette or Camaro or something as proof against my comments, bare in mind that cars like that are also by far and away in the minorty. every dog has its day.)
Edited by user on November 4, 2009 at 6:52 PM
Passenger car production did not resume until 1947, before which the factories had been badly damaged by Allied bombings, and production assets for the Opel Kadett had been seized by the Soviets as war reparations. This Kadett was the basis for the Soviet Moskvitch 400/420 automobile design.
GM regained control of Opel in 1948, and the Rüsselsheim factory was rebuilt in 1950. In 1962, the company's 100th year, a new factory was opened in Bochum, initially for production of the revived Kadett.[8]
By 1972, Opel was once again Germany's largest car maker.
In 1982, another new factory was opened in Figueruelas, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, initially for production of the Opel Corsa. "
-Wikipedia
So i don't see how GM or any country has more claim to Opel than the germans, seeing how GM had no real control of the company until 1950 when the factory was rebuilt, that was 48 years of german ownership, and a plant outside of germany was not built until 1982. As far as i am concerned this company other than on paper and stocks is owned and run by Germans.
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