General Motors’ European unit, Opel, may break even before its 2016 deadline, media reports on Monday said.
According to Reuters, the Wall Street Journal interviewed Opel CEO, Karl-Thomas Neumann who said he did not rule out an earlier return to profitability though he was sticking to his official target to return the brand to break-even in 2016.
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Analysts have suggested that Opel could turn profitable as early as next year, the WSJ said.
“If everything goes well, theoretically that can’t be ruled out,” Neumann was quoted as saying by the publication.
GM has lost some $18bn through Opel over the last 12 years and profit there is at the top of GM CEO Mary Barra’s to-do list, analysts have said.
GM announced plans in April last year to spend EUR4bn (US$5.5bn) by 2016 in Germany and Europe to overhaul Opel’s ageing product range with 23 new products and 13 new engines.
“We’re careful now with new investment and are trying to understand and monitor the situation as it develops,” Neumann was quoted as saying in the report. “Of course, [the development of the] Russian economy is a cause of concern,” he added.
