Fiat still interested in Opel

Milan - Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said on Friday that the Italian automaker hasn't given up on Germany's Opel, even though a deal with rival bidder Canadian auto parts supplier Magna was moving ahead.

"Our interest remains, but it is not up to us," Marchionne was quoted by Italian news agencies ANSA and Apcom as saying at an event in Turin, Fiat's hometown. "Technically, it's not closed. Let's see."

German government officials, as well as US authorities and Opel's parent General Motors, have underlined that the deal with Magna is preliminary, and that the process is still open for all bidders. The deal has raised the ire of officials in Belgium and Britain, where Opel and the sister company Vauxhall run plants, because of the emphasis German officials placed on retaining jobs in Germany over other countries.

Fiat Group pulled out of a decisive round of talks on Opel last week focusing on emergency funding because of what it said were "unreasonable" funding demands, but said it remained interested. Marchionne emphasised on Friday that last week's statement stands.

Fiat is on the verge of taking over assets of the US automaker Chrysler, which is emerging from bankruptcy protection. When the deal is complete, Marchionne will become Chrysler's chief executive.

Marchionne's aim has been to meld Chrysler and Fiat with GM's European business to create a world automotive powerhouse that could produce as many as 6 million cars a year, his threshold for surviving toughening world market conditions.

- AP