German dealers eye ex-VW CEO as Opel boss-report

FRANKFURT, April 18 (Reuters) - Bernd Pischetsrieder, ex-CEO of Volkswagen (VOWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research), could be a suitable head of a new Opel company independent of troubled U.S. parent General Motors Corp GM.N, an Opel dealer group in Germany was quoted on Saturday as saying.

Pischetsrieder was chief executive of Volkswagen, Europe's biggest carmaker, between 2002 and 2006, having previously been at the helm of German premium carmaker BMW (BMWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) during 1993-1999.

GM Chief Executive Fritz Henderson said on Friday his company was readying plans for a possible Chapter 11 filing but held out hope to tens of thousands of European auto workers by saying GM was in talks with a number of investors interested in acquiring stakes in GM's Opel and Saab brands.

When a new Opel company is established in Europe, it should be led by a person independent of GM, the head of German automobile retail trading group AVAG Holding AG, told German car industry newsletter Automobilwoche.

AVAG is the biggest Opel dealership in Germany.

"I am thinking, for example, of Mr. Pischetsrieder. He would be acceptable to Opel's management and could be a lot stronger in dealing with GM-headquarters in Detroit than Mr Forster," AVAG CEO Volker Borkowski said, referring to GM's head of Europe, Carl-Peter Forster.

Opel dealers want to participate in a rescue plan for the German carmaker by taking as much as a 20 percent stake in a new company.

Opel could not be reached for a comment. (Related stories [ID:nN17340195] [ID:nLG939362] [ID:nCARS1]) (Reporting by Peter Starck)