Opel Board to Name VW Exec As CEO

General Motors Co.'s Opel unit will appoint senior Volkswagen AG executive Karl-Thomas Neumann as CEO on Jan. 31, Automobilwoche reports.

An unidentified member of Opel's supervisory board tells the German newspaper that the company, which is in the midst of restructuring, is impressed by Neumann's turnaround expertise.

Automobilwoche also cites an unidentified VW source who says the company is willing to let Neumann leave before his contract expires on June 30. Neumann headed VW's China unit from 2009 until mid-2012 when he was shunted aside in a management shakeup and assigned unspecified new duties.

Reports have circulated since November that Opel would hire Neumann. He will replace Thomas Sedran, the supervisory board member for strategy, who stepped in as CEO last July when the company ousted Karl-Friedrich Stracke.