SAIC may buy Opel Insignia platform to build new Roewe

Shanghai, June 23 (Gasgoo.com) China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC) is planning to purchase new Buick Regal's platform from General Motors Corp to make its own brand car models, according to an informed source quoted by Chinese language newspaper 21st Century Business Herald.

The source said delegations headed by Jiang Jun, deputy general manager of SAIC's passenger car division, has held several round of talks with Joseph Liu, currently GM Asia Pacific's vice president for sales and marketing, on the matter since March this year.

Both SAIC and GM China denied any knowledge of the plan, saying they don't have any platform sharing treaties with GM so far.

The new Buick Regal is based on the same platform with Opel Insignia, which SAIC wants to use to develop its own brand car - a new generation of Roewe 750.

The report said the deal, once inked, would enable SAIC to minimize development costs and provides GM with much needed technology an platform transition fee.

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