GM Europe chief sees sales slumping
ju4 wa4i dia4n zo1ng he2 ba4o da4o :\n  NEW YORK, June 12 (Reuters) - General Motors Corp's <GM.N>\nhead of European operations said rising oil prices, high\ncommodity costs and the strength of the euro could drive\nEuropean sales down to levels not seen in decades.\nNoting that sales have been strong in Eastern Europe, GM\nEurope President Carl-Peter Forster said, "it's clear that the\nbusiness in the mature North American and certain European\nmarkets could be dragged down to lows we haven't seen since the\nrecessionary days of the early 80's."\nHis comments were published in a blog posted on GM's website\non Monday. (To see the full post, click:\nhttp://drivingconversations.gmblogs.com/2008/06/how_high_will_it_go.html)\n"To put it bluntly, the rise in oil is having a profound and\npermanent impact on the fundamentals of our business - and not\njust in North America," Forster wrote.\n"Adding insult to injury, while energy costs are draining\nthe consumer side of our financial equation, the impact of\nskyrocketing commodity prices and the huge disparity between the\nEuro and most other currencies are seriously dragging down the\nproduction side of things here in Europe."\nForster said that unlike other serious downturns in GM's\nhistory, the car maker is pumping investment into future product\nprograms.\nIn the United States, GM has been cutting costs and\nproduction capacity in North America as part of its overall\nturnaround effort.\nIt recently announced a review of the Hummer brand, which\ncould fetch $750 million in a sale, though industry sources are\nskeptical of how much interest there is for the maker of the\ngiant sports utility vehicle.\nIn its last quarterly results statement, GM posted a\nnarrower-than-expected loss as sales gains in Asia and Latin\nAmerica overshadowed a slump in the U.S. market. It has lost a\ncombined $51 billion over the past three years, but said the\nquarterly results pointed to some progress in its turnaround\neffort.\nIn April, GM agreed not to close five European plants or lay\noff 10,000 workers employed there through the end of 2016.\n(Reporting by Christopher Kaufman; Editing by David Cowell)\n((Reuters Messaging chris.kaufman.reuters.com@reuters.net;\nchris.kaufman@thomsonreuters.com, phone 646 223 6011))\nKeywords: GM/EUROPE