Holden has welcomed a move by its parent General Motors to abandon plans to sell its European Opel subsidiary. CAR maker Holden has welcomed US parent General Motors’ announcement this morning that it will retain its European car-making business. GM announced today that it has pulled out of the sale of its Opel and Vauxhall subsidiaries, citing a turnaround in sales and the European car-making division’s importance in the company’s global strategy. Holden sells its Commodore large car into Britain, rebadged as a Vauxhall. With the loss of the Pontiac brand in the US erasing about 60,000 sales a year for the Australian brand, the smaller number of sales to Britain have jumped in importance. Announcing that plans to sell Opel and Vauxhall to Canadian car parts supplier Magna International had fallen through, GM said it had decided it could turn Opel around for a cost of about €3 billion, significantly less than the bid it had received for the European division. ‘‘GM will soon present its restructuring plan to Germany and other governments and hopes for its favourable consideration," GM president Fritz Henderson said. ‘‘... From the outset, our goal has been to secure the best long-term solution for our customers, employee, suppliers, and dealers, which is reflected in the decision reached today,’’ he said. ‘‘This was deemed to be the most stable and least costly approach for securing Opel/Vauxhall's long-term future.’’ GM had been deep in prolonged talks with Canadian-controlled Magna International over the sale of Opel. Magna co-chief executive Siegfried Wolf said the company understood that it was ‘‘in GM's best interests’’ to hold onto Opel. A spokesman for Holden said the surprise announcement from its US parent meant it was too early to say what the implications were for the Australian division. ‘‘I don’t think (GM’s decision to retain Opel) will make any difference to Holden,’’ Scott Whiffin told Drive today. ‘‘It’s a bit early to be extrapolating it out.’’ Mr Whiffin said it also meant Holden would be able to continue selling Vauxhall-badged Commodores into Britain.

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