GM Says Opel Not For Sale Despite Discussions With Fiat

When there’s blood in the water, sharks start to bite. If the automotive industry does nothing else, it fosters ruthless competition and a winner-takes-all mentality akin to professional sports.

That’s exactly why reporters were peppering Chrysler– Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne with questions about his company wanting to buy GM’s struggling German subsidiary, Opel.

Outside scheduled announcements, Marchionne told the Detroit News that “there’s a willingness on the part of Fiat-Chrysler to listen,” going on to say that “this is an industry that is in evolution.”

Despite his affirmation that Fiat would be willing to consider the idea, there doesn’t seem to be any plan being cooked up. GM vice chairman Steve Girsky said he and Marchionne had dinner last Sunday and that Marchionne wasn’t interested in Opel.

“Opel is not for sale,” Girsky said. “We’re going to make Opel work.” GM is “committed to returning our European business to sustained profitability. There’s a lot of work to do.”

For better or worse, the business world is sensitive to such discussions. The notion that something like that might happen drove speculation that Fiat might also be eyeing Peugeot. Once again, it seems the rumor mill is churning out little more than hot air, though Marchionne maintains that he is open to opportunities.

For now it seems the dinner discussions that spurred these questions were little more than meals, though we’ll stick to Marchionne’s philosophy and refuse to rule anything out, especially considering his original plan after buying Chrysler was, in fact, to take Opel as well.

[Source: Detroit News]