Opel Insignia-based Chinese-market Buick Regal

Opel Insignia-based Chinese-market Buick Regal

Carl-Peter Forster, GM group vice president and president of Opel, will be leaving his role as head of the European operation and will advise the company during the transition to find a new CEO, it was announced today.

With the departure of Forster, GM will initiate an immediate external search for a new CEO for Opel. Expected to replace him, believe it or not, is GM's Bob Lutz.

The move comes just days after GM decided to keep Opel rather than selling it to a consortium of buyers led by Magna International and Russia's Sberbank.

No other management changes to the Opel organization are being considered at this time, and that all key management roles remain while the search for a new CEO continues.

Perhaps most telling in the whole fiasco, GM still has plans for Opel cars here in the U.S. Although Saturn was previously the primary outlet for re-badged Opels in America, Buick recently confirmed a redesigned Insignia to be sold as the Regal. For more on what may be in store for that car, read up on our preview story here.

[General Motors]