GM insists it stands by Opel, Vauxhall

US auto giant General Motors (GM) insisted that it was committed to supporting its ailing European brands Opel and Vauxhall, in remarks at the Geneva motor show on Tuesday. GM vice president Stephen Girsky told a press conference that GM stood by the two European businesses. "Any talk of insolvency should be off the table, any talk that we are not committed to Europe should be off the table," he said. The expression "off the table" in this context means not worthy of consideration. Girsky rejected any idea that GM might abandon the Vauxhall brand in Britain. "There is no debate whether the Vauxhall name is important or not. We know it is very important and we have no plans to walk away from it." GM had held talks with the British and German governments on the future of its activities in Europe, which have suffered from the crisis in the eurozone, and is to continue with these, he said. GM is also involved in acquiring 7.0 percent of struggling French group PSA Peugeot Citroen under a global strategic venture to reduce costs. Commenting on this, Girsky said: "In the second half of this year you will start to see some of the product programmes and purchasing initiatives will start to be developed. "The PSA agreement will add another tool to the toolkit in terms of our ability to reduce material costs further, improve our logistic costs. "This alliance will add a lot to the plans that are already in place."