The Economic Times (Detroit) - General Motors Co on Wednesday called comments made by Volkswagen AG's chief executive about a possible sale of the US automaker's Opel unit "regrettable."
"In Wednesday's edition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn commented on rumors regarding Opel, which continues a regrettable pattern of fanning speculation as Opel makes solid progress in its restructuring, in generating improved operating results," GM said in a statement.
Speculation about Opel's future began in early June with reports by German media that the European unit could be sold and possible buyers included Chinese automakers or Volkswagen.
Opel Chairman Nick Reilly on June 30 said GM was "very satisfied" with Opel's progress, but failed to quash rumors GM was mulling a sale, saying the company does not comment on speculation.
GM dropped plans to sell Opel in 2009 after months of negotiations, and embarked on a restructuring to get the unit, which lost $1.6 billion last year, back on track.
Winterkorn told the German newspaper he did not think Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co would be interested in buying Opel if it was sold, but Chinese automakers would love to gain access to Opel's technical center and distribution network.
Winterkorn added that it might not be wise to give up 5,000 engineers at a time when everybody is looking to hire such people, according to the newspaper.
VW officials were not immediately available to comment and GM declined further comment beyond the statement.
