Vauxhall boss denies plans for sale

Head of Vauxhall-Opel in Europe says the rumours of an imminent sale have “no foundation”

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By Roger Stansfield

11th July 2011

The head man for Vauxhall-Opel in Europe, Nick Reilly, has gone on record to quash ‘mischievous’ rumours that the two companies are to be sold off by US parent General Motors.

“These rumours started in Germany we think, and some commentators in America have been saying that Dan Akerson (the global head of GM) is impatient with the pace of the turnaround at Vauxhall-Opel,” Reilly said.

“Dan Akerson has since made several public statements saying that GM is very pleased with the progress at Vauxhall-Opel. It is ahead of plan, ahead of expectations and sales are going up.

“It is interesting that just as Vauxhall-Opel has had seven months of growing market share and profitability before restructuring costs, these rumours should start,” Reilly added.

“This year our target for the underlying business is to be profitable before restructuring costs, and we are on target.”

Reilly says he has assured the Works Council of GM Europe that the rumours have no foundation.

“The reason we have not been commenting on the speculation is that there are very strict rules about these things, particularly on the New York Stock Exchange. If you say something which affects the share price or shareholders’ decisions, you can later be sued.”

Reilly says he cannot promise that Vauxhall-Opel will never be sold, but there are no current plans. “If in five years’ time we were to go into some sort of merger, circumstances could change, but as we sit here today there is no foundation for these rumours.”