The German government doesn’t seem to be in an awful hurry to bail out Opel. First, Berlin bitched about the quality of GM Europe’s rescue plan which was submitted last month. According to that plan, the German unit, along with its UK-based Vauxhall unit, would be partly spun off. Along with that, state aid to the tune of €3.3B ($4.2B) was requested. Berlin said the plan was interesting but mostly fluff. They demanded another one; it hasn’t arrived. No plan, no money.
And just in case a better plan would be forthcoming, Chancellor Angela Merkel set the bar a bit higher. “Before we decide (on aid), we must know important decisions in the United States; for example, how things proceed with Opel’s parent company General Motors, what independence General Motors can give Opel, what happens with Opel patents,” Merkel said, according to Reuters. That’s a whole bunch of important decisions to be taken before any money is being given.
For starters, German government help for Opel is now dependent on decisions the U.S. administration has yet to make. Just in case that would happen any time soon, GM would have to cut Opel loose and fork over the patents. Barring that, no money.
“We will support companies like Opel if our help can secure a good future for these businesses and not just go up in smoke without taking any effect,” Merkel told newspaper Bild.
The longer this drags on, the more the enthusiasm to bail out Opel abates. Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck told students in Bonn he would be “very reserved” with regard to state aid for Opel. Chancellor Angela Merkel told fellow Christian Democrats that Opel “is not systemically crucial to the German economy,” a party official told Reuters.
Today, GM Europe chief Carl-Peter Forster had to state, on the German radio station Deutschlandfunk, that Opel is not insolvent. However, GM might reduce its stake in Opel to a minority and some parties have already said they are interested in the German carmaker, even though details of the plan to save it are undecided and have to be approved by the US government, he said. Frau Merkel probably liked to hear that. Again, a decision that doesn’t have to be made.
If “Opel is not insolvent”, why ask for bailout? Why not just business as usual?
If Opel goes away, what happens to Saturn’s vehicles? Oh wait…that’s right. GM drove it into the ground like the rest of the company and is trying to kill it. Wonderful.
Unlike the US, Germany has a few strong carmakers.
It would be nice to have a manufacturing economy like Germany.
Rusty, aside from the Astra Saturn wasn’t selling any actual Opels. Saturn only adopted Opel’s current styling language on US cars.
With the economic downturn there are too many manufacturers and too much supply out there; too many fish and not enough fish food. Spending money on these car companies is just trying to warm up leftovers until happier days but that could be years away.
I know it has been said countless times, but why not just let the weakest car companies starve or let the other hungry fish consume them? Doesn’t this force the remaining companies to provide a great product and a good price to continue attracting customers. Seems like a good thing to me.
If the economy bounces back one day and there’s a need, just resurrect a past brand and give it another go.
Governments’ financial responsibility should be in assisting those displaced workers to be trained and find new jobs to help push start the economy. If that weakens the union movement as we know it, then that’s just the way it goes.
When are Merkel and Obama set to meet? Maybe she could give him some hints on viable industry and economic restructuring.
The US is facing the loss of all three of its major car makers – Germany is not.
I don’t suppose VAG, BMW or Daimler would be too chuffed to see a foreign-owned company being propped up either.
Game over for Opel methinks.
Trishield: and Saturn/GM wasn’t selling very many Astras either….. Yet another lame attempt to “sell” Opels in the US.
As I’ve stated before, from a personal standpoint, seeing Opel go away would be sad, indeed. And if I’m not mistaken, both the Astra AND Vue are Opel (well, the Vue by way of the Orient, but still). My family owned many an Opel in our past, so there is an emotional tie to the brand. Too bad that they’re hanging on to a very small, thin line…
I’d say that Opel will go the way of Borgward, Lloyd, Hansa, Goliath, Goggomobil, DKW, Auto Union, NSU and Glas very shortly.
Actually, probably more along the lines of Borgward/Lloyd/Hansa/Goliath – “kaput”. Rather than like NSU, DKW and Auto Union which morphed into Audi and Glas-Goggomibil which was bought up by BMW.