Opel Looking To Increase Outsourcing Of Stampings

Autoparts Report, Nov 3, 2001

German carmaker Adam Opel said that it was looking at all options for the structuring of a possible partnership with ThyssenKrupp Automotive AG and, or Magna Steyr in stamping and components activities. "We are in preliminary talks which are going well and everything is open - an outright sale or a joint venture," said a spokesman for the unit of U.S. carmaker General Motors Corp.

Opel said its aim is to outsource some of its production at its Kaiserslauten plant in southern Germany is part of its bid to return to profit from 2003. GM Europe has said it will cut capacity by about 15 percent to do so. A spokesman for Magna Europe AG confirmed it was in talks with Opel and Thyssen over a potential partnership involving stampings and components for the Kaiserslautern factory. "We are at a very early stage in the negotiations and there are not yet any concrete ideas," a Steyr spokesman said.