GM to shutter Saab engine plant, develop up to four new Opels?

General Motors is closing ailing Saab's engine plant in Soedertaelje, Sweden. According to AutomobilWoche, GM hopes to restructure the company's powertrain assembly practices in the region. To that end, roughly two-thirds of the 60,000 engines Saab produces will begin originating in Kaiserslautern, Germany.

In other news, in an interview with GM vice chair Bob Lutz, the automaker is considering up to four new Opel models. One such vehicle, a sub-Antara (read: Saturn Vue) crossover will be released by 2007, and that the plant is expected to be assembled in a low-cost plant, likely in Mexico, Thailand, or India. No word on whether it will come to the U.S.  yet, but with the growing 'Opelization' of Saturn and a global target of 200,000 units, it would appear that anything is possible.

[Source: AFX News Limited via Forbes]