GENERAL MOTORS

The board of General Motors Co has approved a plan to produce a plug-in hybrid for the luxury Cadillac brand that will adapt technology developed for the upcoming Chevrolet Volt, according to people briefed on the decision.

General Motors named Nick Reilly, head of the U.S. carmaker's international operations, as interim head of its European business while it searches for a new chief executive for the Opel unit.

German Chancellor Merkel urged General Motors to quickly present a restructuring plan for its European unit Opel and said the U.S. automaker should not count on governments to shoulder most of the overhaul costs.

The state parent of Chongqing Changan Automobile Co has agreed to take over major auto assets from aircraft maker Aviation Industry Corp of China, heeding Beijing's calls to speed up restructuring in the fragmented auto industry.

General Motors Co said on Monday that it would invest C$90 million ($85.1 million) to expand a joint venture plant in Canada where it builds the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain crossovers.

German Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle said on Monday that U.S. automaker General Motors had not yet presented a plan for Opel and therefore the question of providing state aid was not being considered.

China's passenger cars sales in October surged 75.8 percent from a year earlier, official data showed, extending the explosive growth in recent months as government incentive policies continued to lure customers.

General Motors Co said on Monday its China vehicle sales in October more than doubled from a year earlier, continuing a string of monthly sales records since the start of the year due to Beijing's stimulus policies.

Manfred Wennemer resigned from his post as one of the five board members of the Opel Trust on Saturday in protest against the constant interference by politicians in Germany surrounding planned sale of Opel.

Automobile output in Brazil rose sharply in October as factories ramped up production after a slump the previous month, the national automakers' association Anfavea said on Monday.

General Motors Chief Executive Fritz Henderson was due in Germany on Monday to start talks aimed at soothing workers' tempers over the carmaker's plan to reorganize European arm Opel on its own.

Opel's top German labor leader said on Sunday he was willing to hold negotiations over a restructuring of the European carmaker under its parent General Motors so long as it gains greater independence.

General Motors Co will probably stick to a plan to cut costs at Opel by 30 percent after deciding to restructure the European subsidiary itself rather than sell it, Bob Lutz, a GM executive set to become Opel's chairman, was quoted as saying on Sunday.

Shares of Magna International Inc surged nearly 15 percent on Friday, a day after it posted a surprise quarterly profit and said it would focus on its core auto-parts business after the collapse of its deal to buy a stake in General Motors Co's Opel unit.

General Motors Co said on Friday the head of its European operations, Carl-Peter Forster, is leaving, three days after the automaker's decision to scrap a planned sale of its Opel unit.

The head of General Motors' European business, Carl-Peter Forster, is leaving the company after the surprise decision by GM's board to block the sale of Opel, two sources close to the situation told Reuters.

Shares of Magna International Inc were up more than 12 percent on Friday, a day after it posted a surprise quarterly profit and said it would focus on its core auto-parts business after the collapse of its deal to buy a stake in General Motors Co's Opel unit.

The head of General Motors' European business, Carl-Peter Forster, is leaving the company following the surprise decision by GM's board to block the sale of Opel, two sources close to the situation told Reuters.

U.S. carmaker General Motors' decision to keep its European unit Opel will benefit European taxpayers, especially in Britain, Germany and Spain, British Business Secretary Peter Mandelson said on Thursday.

Russia accused General Motors of showing the United States' scorn of business with Europe by abandoning its sale of Opel, whose German workers went on strike on Thursday.

General Motors Co on Thursday said it was readying a plan to restructure Opel and could pay off debt due this month as German workers went on strike to protest the automakers decision to keep the European unit.