It looks like Land Rover...
It looks like Land Rover is turning over a new leaf! The 4x4 maker has acknowledged it needs to do more to make its range greener ò€“ and now the firm has put its money where its muddy mouth is.
The German Government...
The German Government will meet later on today (Wednesday) to decide which company will take over Opel and Vauxhall in Europe.
Four bidders have been shortlisted to take the reigns from struggling American parent company General Motors, the favourite being Italian automotive giant Fiat. However, Chinaò€™s Beijing Automotive (BAIC) is also in the running as well as Canadian parts firm Magna and Belgium-based RHJ International.
While General Motors will have the final say over which company takes over its European businesses, the German Governmentò€™s backing is essential as it will provide the new parent company with much-needed finance to see Vauxhall and Opel through the recession.
German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, will meet with top brass at GM, US Government officials and domestic regional leaders today to determine the successful bidder.
Opelò€™s headquarters is located in Germany, as are 25,000 of the firmò€™s 50,000 European employees, so the new parent company is likely to be the one that plans to make the least amount of redundancies and cutbacks when it takes over from GM.
So far, BAIC has said that it will not make any job cuts for at least two years. Fiat claims that it will make 2,000 redundancies, while Magna says it will lay off 2,500 workers.
The takeover is also expected to affect the 5,000 Vauxhall employees at the British firmò€™s factories in Luton and Ellesmere Port. However, the UK Government is considering financial aid to help Vauxhall through the transition.