The CEO General Motors’ European subsidiary Opel, Karl-Thomas Neumann, prepares to resign as GM prepares to sell the company to France’s PSA Group, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAS) reported on Saturday.
Without mentioning its sources, the newspaper stated that while Neumann sees the sale to PSA as the best tactical action, he is concerned that the new owner is ignoring the growing significance of electric vehicles.
Neumann prepared to notify Opel’s supervisory board about his decision at its next conference on June 22, the report included in an excerpt of an article to be released on Sunday, provided to Reuters on Saturday.
Neumann wishes to stay on board only till the automaker finishes the sale of Opel to PSA Group, owner of the Peugeot, Citroen and DS brands, the report added.
Opel refused to comment.
Opel stated the sale, valued at 2.2 billion euros ($2.46 billion), could be finished as soon as July 31, pending regulative approval from antitrust authorities.
Karl-Thomas Neumann stated in an interview in March he prepared to stay in his job even under Peugeot, pointing out “great respect for each other”.
Neumann’s mooted departure from Opel comes because the position of top executive at Neumann’s former employer, Volkswagen Group, has been brought into question in the wake of emissions scandal.
