GM Increases investmest in Opel

[Bruce Nunnally]

Facing continued resistance in Europe, particularly in Germany, over its turnaround plan for Opel, General Motors announced last week it would nearly triple the amount of money was planning to pump into the operation's restructuring, for a total of about $2.6 billion.

The announcement follows calls from German officials demanding that GM pony up more money and it highlights the challenges that remain for GM, which exited bankruptcy in July.

Turning around Opel is critical to turning around GM, but the effort will be challenged by the European market, which is expected to see further sales declines this year.

GM executives say they can't just walk away from Europe.

"Ford is profitable in Europe. You just can't accept that we're ... somehow incapable of being profitable in an area where our competitors are profitable," Bob Lutz, a GM vice chairman, told the Free Press in an interview last month.

Read More: http://www.freep.com/article/20100307/BUSINESS01/3070481/1210/Business/GM-to-pay-more-to-Opel