Opel sales chief's departure is further blow to troubled brandJan. 28, 2013 09:48 CET  Opel sales and marketing chief Alfred Rieck has quit his post, marking another high-profile departure for the troubled brand. Opel named Duncan Aldred as interim head of sales and marketing.... Read More »
GM mulls merging Opel with PSA's auto operations, sources sayOct. 15, 2012 06:01 CET  GM and PSA are exploring ways to combine their European operations in a second phase of the alliance they forged earlier this year, sources said. One option is for GM's Opel/Vauxhall unit to merge with PSA's automotive operations.... Read More »
GM backs Opel as Europe chief Girsky pledges turnaround at carmakerSept. 11, 2012 09:29 CET  For GM's Vice Chairman Steve Girsky, it's time to prove himself at Opel/Vauxhall. As a GM director, Girsky opposed the sale of the unit in 2009 and now as head of European operations, he is taking direct responsibility for making that decision work, and he's committed to fixing the carmaker.... Read More »
NICK GIBBS 3 candidates who could lead Opel's recovery 12:01 am U.S. ET | July 30, 2012  Who will be the next head of General Motors' Opel/Vauxhall unit? Candidates should include former GM purchasing boss Bo Andersson, former Renault No. 2 Patrick Pelata and former PSA Peugeot Citroen No. 2 Jean-Marc Gales Nick Gibbs is U.K. correspondent for Automotive News Europe.... Read More »
NICK GIBBS Bo Andersson, Patrick Pelata and other Opel CEO possibilities 12:01 am U.S. ET | July 25, 2012  So who's going to be the next head of GM's troubled Opel/Vauxhall? The list of candidates should include ex-GM procurement boss Bo Andersson, former Renault No. 2 Patrick Pelata and Jean-Marc Gales, who was second in command at PSA.... Read More »
NICK GIBBS Bo Andersson, Patrick Pelata and other Opel CEO possibilities 12:01 am U.S. ET | July 25, 2012  So who's going to be the next head of GM's troubled Opel/Vauxhall? The list of candidates should include ex-GM procurement boss Bo Andersson, former Renault No. 2 Patrick Pelata and Jean-Marc Gales, who was second in command at PSA.... Read More »
Ford could join rivals in closing European factoryJuly 20, 2012 11:25 CET  Ford, with overseas losses reducing total profit, is under pressure to close at least one factory in Europe, where it may have more excess capacity than rival General Motors. Both GM and PSA have announced plans to shutter plants in the region, which could ease the way for Ford.... Read More »
Ford could join rivals in closing European factory 5:25 am U.S. ET | July 20, 2012  Ford, with overseas losses reducing total profit, is under pressure to close at least one factory in Europe, where it may have more excess capacity than rival GM. Both GM and PSA have announced plans to shutter plants in the region, which could ease the way for Ford.... Read More »
Opel picks Thomas Sedran as interim CEOJuly 17, 2012 13:06 CET  Opel has appointed Thomas Sedran as its interim CEO. The former restructuring consultant will serve as the money-losing GM unit's boss until a permanent chief executive is found, Opel said.... Read More »
VW price cuts help slow Europe sales drop in JuneJuly 17, 2012 11:08 CET European car sales fell at the slowest rate in eight months as price cuts by VW Group helped counter the effects of the region's sovereign-debt crisis and rising unemployment. "We see large rebates in the German market," said Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, head of the Center for Automotive Research at the University of Duisburg-Essen.... Read More »
DAVE GUILFORD Why the Chevy-Opel crisis in Europe sounds so familiar 2:14 pm U.S. ET | July 17, 2012  The personnel moves at the top of GM in Europe this week may have been surprising, but there was a clear signal of trouble weeks ago. At the Automotive News Europe Congress, then-Opel CEO Karl-Friedrich Stracke said GM had moved Opel upmarket too quickly. In the future, he said, Opel will be a brand more buyers can afford, aimed at its traditional customers. Taken in isolation, the move might make sense. But nothing in the GM empire exists in isolation.... Read More »
GM seen by analysts as a step away from giving up on OpelJuly 16, 2012 09:15 CET  Just hours after General Motors announced Karl-Friedrich Stracke was quitting as CEO of Opel last week, industry observers were already beginning to ask whether it was time to start writing the troubled European unit's epitaph.... Read More »
NEWS ANALYSIS Girsky must make deep cuts at OpelJuly 16, 2012 06:01 CET  When GM last had a profitable year in Europe, the company was in the midst of a $600 million global project to ensure Y2K readiness. Steve Girsky was an auto analyst on Wall Street. Now Girsky is the one tasked with fixing the company's business in Europe, a goal that has eluded many GM lifers during the 12 years that $12.4 billion in losses have piled up in the region.... Read More »
Girsky must take ax to Opel 12:01 am U.S. ET | July 16, 2012  When General Motors last had a profitable year in Europe, the company was in the midst of a $600 million global project to ensure Y2K readiness. Steve Girsky was an auto analyst on Wall Street. Now Girsky is the one tasked with righting the company's ship in Europe, a goal that has eluded many GM lifers during the 12 years that $12.4 billion in losses have piled up on that continent.... Read More »
Opel's Girsky wants changes made at carmaker, report saysJuly 14, 2012 16:01 CET  Opel interim CEO Stephen Girsky said changes have to be made at the carmaker to revitalize it, a German newspaper said, citing his e-mail to staff. "Our successful revitalization demands from all of us the readiness to do things differently in the business," Girsky said. GM named Girsky to his position at Opel on Thursday.... Read More »
GM faces tough task to find new Opel CEOJuly 13, 2012 09:09 CET  Analysts said General Motors would find it difficult to find a new head for its struggling European Opel/Vauxhall unit after CEO Karl-Friedrich Stracke stepped down from the position.... Read More »
GM's Opel to stick to business plan despite new CEO 2:21 pm U.S. ET | July 13, 2012  Ailing European carmaker Opel said it would not need to draw up a new mid-term business plan following a decision by parent General Motors to abruptly replace its CEO and appoint GM Vice Chairman Stephen Girsky as interim CEO.... Read More »
GM's Stracke steps down as Europe chief; Girsky named interim head 10:26 am U.S. ET | July 12, 2012  Opel's Karl-Friedrich Stracke stepped down from his position as CEO of the embattled European carmaker to take on "special assignments," where he will report to General Motors CEO Dan Akerson. GM Vice Chairman Steve Girsky was named the interim head of GM's European operations.... Read More »
Lower price point for Opels, Vauxhalls 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 25, 2012  In an effort to win back buyers, Opel/Vauxhall will move toward lower-priced models, CEO Karl-Friedrich Stracke said. Stracke didn't say how or when the new pricing policy will be implemented.... Read More »
Closer Opel-Peugeot ties cloud BMW hybrid JV 12:16 pm U.S. ET | June 21, 2012  A joint venture to make hybrid car components between France's PSA Peugeot Citroen and Germany's BMW was thrown into doubt by the prospect of deepening ties between the French auto maker and its European rival Opel.... Read More »
2012 ANE CONGRESS Opel will make its cars more affordable, CEO saysJune 21, 2012 12:14 CET  Opel/Vauxhall is reversing its upscale pricing strategy and will make its cars more affordable to win back buyers, CEO Karl-Friedrich Stracke told the Automotive News Europe Congress in Monte Carlo on Thursday.... Read More »
GM faces costs of up to 1 billion euros to close Bochum plant, labor leader saysJune 18, 2012 09:29 CET  General Motors may face costs of up to 1 billion euros ($1.26 billion) to close an Opel factory in Bochum, Germany, according to a labor leader. Opel is negotiating with labor unions to close the plant after production of the Zafira minivan ends.... Read More »
GM closing factory in Germany is just the beginning, experts sayJune 14, 2012 07:49 CET  GM, moving toward the first shuttering of a German auto factory since World War II, is only addressing a fraction of the European supply glut. Overcapacity in western Europe may more than double to about 2 million vehicles in 2012 as the region's car market heads toward its fifth-consecutive decline in new-car sales.... Read More »
|
