With just a week to go before Fiat and Chrysler must firm up their merger plans, it would seem odd that Fiat would spend its time discussing taking a possible majority stake in General Motors’ Opel and Vauxhall units, but that’s just what a labor boss at an Opel union in Germany told the media that the Italian automaker was planning to do.
Klaus Franz, chairman of Opel’s supervisory board and head of the automaker’s union, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur that Fiat intends to take a majority stake in Opel and Vauxhall, but that the unions would oppose a takeover because of the assumption the Italian carmaker would cut German jobs and factories.
It has been widely reported in German media that Fiat is interested in Opel and its British Vauxhall sister, even though no official word has come out of either automaker. Der Spiegel reported that Fiat and Opel will sign a “letter of intent” next week, even before the Chrysler /Fiat deadline and Auto Motor Und Sport claims that GM CEO Fritz Henderson has held talks with Fiat’s Sergio Marchionne about the potential tie-up.
GM has been considering spinning off Opel and Vauxhall entirely, but has said that it would not be opposed to keeping a share in the brands if an outside party were to buy a controlling share.
Auto Motor Und Sport says that Fiat is interested in accessing the platforms that underpin the Insignia and Astra. Fiat’s Croma (pictured), a less-than-successful midsize sedan (and Fiat’s largest non-commercial vehicle) is based on GM’s Epsilon architecture, which also underpins the Saab 9-3 , Chevrolet Malibu and Pontiac G6. The new Insignia, which replaced the Epsilon-based Vectra, rides on GM’s new Epsilon II platform, which allows for easier adaptation to all-wheel-drive, among other advantages. The Fiat Linea, sold in emerging markets, is also based on GM architecture – the platform that underpins the Opel and Vauxhall Corsa.
