FRANKFURT (Reuters) - General Motors European unit Opel is considering taking on a partner in the field of fuel-saving hybrid powertrains in order to share development costs as the brand rolls out more gasoline-electric cars.
"Hybrid technology is becoming increasingly more important. We are not holding any concrete talks but a cooperation would be certainly a good way to cut costs," Opel chief Karl-Friedrich Stracke was quoted by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung's Wednesday edition as saying.
According to the head of Opel, the driver is European legislation that mandates by 2020 carmakers to sell on average vehicles that emit 95 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer.