New CEO Upbeat About Changing Opel

New Opel CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann says one reason he took the job was the commitment of parent General Motors Co. to spend billions of dollars to turn Opel around.

He tells reporters at the Geneva auto show that he also was persuaded by getting a seat on GM's executive committee, where major decisions are made.

Just three days into the new post, Neumann says his top priorities are to maintain a steady stream of new models, continue to cut costs and shake up Opel's complacent culture. The unit is now in "attack mode," he declares.

Neumann says the unit aims to match last year's European sales of more than 1 million vehicles in 2013. He cites strong orders for Opel's new Mokka small crossover and Adam city car. Neumann adds that Opel expects to pare its operating loss from last year's $1.8 billion (€1.4 billion) deficit.