Opel/Vauxhall’s pan-European dealer association Euroda has poured cold water on speculation General Motors could divest itself of its overseas division – although the source of the rumours still remains unclear.
Intense transatlantic discussions appear to have taken place following the rumours GM was looking to off-load its loss-making European arm although Euroda – representing 4,000 dealers – is keen to distance itself from any such possibility following a meeting with Opel CEO Karl-Friedrich Stracke.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
“We had a meeting yesterday [16 June] with Stracke in Dudenhofen,” Euroda chairman Jaap Timmer told just-auto from Holland.
“It was said to him by [GM CEO Dan] Akerson there are no negotiations going for the sale of Opel. If there [had] been an announcement made by GM, then the situation would have been entirely different.”
Timmer stressed that in his view Opel/Vauxhall was on the way to recovery after the losses of the past few years that some estimates put at US$13bn.
The Euroda chief also stressed the meeting with Stracke at Opel’s test track of Dudenhofen near Frankfurt was not called to discuss the rumours, although he questioned from where the source of the speculation had originated.
Last year GM launched a EURO3.3bn Opel restructuring plan. It wants to cut capacity by 20%, eliminate 8,000 jobs and redesign 80% of its model line-up.
