Geely Could Buy Opel's Antwerp Plant

After snatching Volvo and facing criticism coming from all over the world, the Chinese chief executives within Geely went out shopping once again. The most attractive product has its roots in Europe once again, but this time it's owned by Ford's biggest competitor in the American market, General Motors. According to the Belgian news agency Belga, Geely wants to buy Opel's Antwerp facility, which is scheduled to close its doors by the end of the year.

Last week, GM's European unit announced that Antwerp will officially shut down production in the next months because the company hasn't managed to find a suitable buyer. The facility currently builds Opel Astra, so production of this model will be relocated to another site.

It appears that Geely has already started negotiating the takeover, so Chinese officials traveled to Belgium to discuss the possibility of receiving some incentives for saving the plant from closure. "I would like to look at the possibilities that Antwerp offers," Geely owner Li Shufu was quoted as saying by the aforementioned source.

In the meantime, Opel continues the closure, with all 1,300 people working at the plant to receive severance packages, but there are no details on what a "severance package" actually means for the Belgium employees.

“None of the potential investors was able to come forward with a sustainable business concept for the plant,” the German manufacturer said in a statement cited by Autonews. “The process to search an industrial investor interested in continuing operations has come to an end.”