Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has blasted straight back at the comments made this morning by European Commissioner Guenter Verheugen (above) who in a TV interview derided the idea that Fiat could successfully invest in Opel.

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has blasted straight back at the comments made this morning by European Commissioner Guenter Verheugen who in a TV interview derided the idea that Fiat could successfully invest in Opel.

Verheugen, the European Union's senior industry official, told Bavarian Broadcasting that Fiat was unlikely to be in a position to make an investment in GM's European operations that are sold under the Opel/ and Vauxhall brand names. "I wonder where this heavily indebted enterprise is going to get the funds to tackle two such operations at the same time," he told the German TV channel. The commissioner added that a union wouldn't work as Fiat and Opel had similar market positions and he decried Fiat as being "not exactly the European carmaker hat is doing the best."

Also today the main union representing workers at Opel's factories in Germany, IG Metall, said it was firmly opposed to an alliance with Fiat, although it was positive about the interest of Canadian components manufacturer, Magna, which has also reportedly expressed it desire to discuss an investment. IG Metall's key negotiator dealing with the sale of GM's European operations, Armin Schild, felt that the overlap in model line ups between Fiat and Opel could lead to the latter having models withdrawn from production. He also told ZDF television that other parties were interested by that he must remain discreet and could not identify them.

Marchionne quick responded to Commissioner Verheugen's comments, issuing a statement this afternoon that read: "I am astounded by the tone and content of Commissioner Verheugen's comments this morning. I believed that his role in Brussels was clearly super partes, regardless of national origin. This is second time in a matter of a few months that Commissioner Verheugen has expressed views which have not been supportive of the auto industry, suggesting at some point that not all automotive houses in Europe will survive. These comments are not helpful to the ultimate goal of re-establishing a sound footing on which to build the future of this industry. As the Commissioner in charge of enterprise and industry I would have expected him to engage in constructive dialogue with the European carmakers to resolve the issues which are negatively impacting industry today, rather than issuing death sentences for the industry or unilaterally selecting who will survive," Marchionne concluded.