Chairman Says Magna Wants To Build Cars In Canada - Report

MONTREAL (AFP)--Canadian autoparts manufacturer Magna International Inc. (MGA), chosen by Berlin to take over auto maker Opel, said Saturday it wants to build cars by the German company in Canada.

"We want to build Opel cars in Canada," Magna Chairman Frank Stronach told The Globe and Mail, without however providing details of where the vehicles could be assembled.

"I know we can be competitive, I know we can create jobs in Canada and the United States," he added in the interview with the daily from Toronto, the eastern Canadian city where he opened his first auto plant in 1957.

"If we don't change the culture, North America's got no chance to be in the automobile industry, absolutely no chance."

Stronach said auto makers can be competitive if management and employees work together and end what he called the confrontational and adversarial structure that has dominated the industry.

After marathon negotiations brokered by the German government, a deal was struck early Saturday that sees Magna and its Russian backers taking over Opel as its U.S.-based parent company General Motors prepares to file for insolvency.

As part of the deal, Magna would take over 20% of the new company, which would become Canada's biggest auto maker, while Russia's Sberbank (SBER.RS) would have a 35% stake, GM would keep another 25% and employees would secure 10%.