General Motors Not to Sell Opel

In March this year, it was decided by General Motors Company to sell off Opel and Vauxhall. The decision to actually sell them to Magna, a Canadian car parts firm, was taken in September. This decision was taken after the US giant announced a group-wide loss of $30.9bn for 2008, thanks to the global economic recession. But now, GM has decided not to go ahead with this decision, because, according to sources, the business environment for GM has really improved in the past few months. Aided by financial support from the US government, GM went through a brief period in US bankruptcy protection in June and July. But since then, GM has since managed to turn around its fortunes quite well. Now, besides the restructuring of its European operations, GM also plans to seek aid for Opel from some European states including the German government.

Meanwhile, Magna co-chief executive officer Siegfried Wolf said that he understood their decision, and it was in GM's best interest to retain Opel. He also went on to add that his company would continue to support GM and Opel to face the challenges that lie ahead.

It is no secret that Opel and Vauxhall are a vital part of GM's global strategy. GM actually never wanted to let go of Opel, but were pushed into nearly doing so. So this latest development is not too surprising after all.