BAIC interested in acquiring Opel in Europe?

Paul Tan's Automotive News - Beijing Automotive Industry Holding is certainly ramping things up – the company, which has joint ventures with Hyundai and Mercedes-Benz to build cars for the Chinese market, is set to launch its own brand later this year when it completes development of a mid-sized sedan based on the previous Saab 9-5. It also plans to launch its first electric vehicle, a compact sedan, in September.

Now, it’s looking at expanding into foreign shores, specifically Europe. The Chinese automaker has apparently intimated to General Motors that it has an interest in acquiring the latter’s Opel division in Europe, as initially reported by German newspaper Die Welt.

Beijing Automotive’s president Wang Dazong, who spent two decades working at GM as an engineer, has stated that the company aims to expand outside its domestic home market, but the reports add that no formal offer to buy Opel has been made, and GM – which has a JV in China with SAIC Motor – hasn’t offered any comment on the matter.