US carmaker General Motors is again considering selling its troubled Opel European offshoot, according to German media reports Thursday, according to dpa. The Detroit-based car group was concerned about the chances of Opel surviving the current tough auto market, the magazine Auto Bild reported, citing unnamed sources. But both GM and Opel spokesmen dismissed the reports as pure speculation, while Opel chief Karl Friedrich Stracke described the reports as baseless. In an e-mail to Opel employees, Stracke dismissed the talk of a sale of the carmaker as rumours. The weekly new magazine Spiegel also citing unnamed sources reported that GM was weighing up whether to put Opel and its British associate brand Vauxhall up for sale as a result of continuing losses at the group, which is based in the west German city of Ruesselsheim. Both Europe's biggest carmaker Volkswagen or auto groups from China have been mentioned as possible buyers for Opel, the two magazines reported. A VW spokesman said the German-based company never commented on media speculation. However, behind the scenes VW sources said that the carmaker's executives were perplexed by the reports that it might be a potential buyer for Opel.
