So dismal is its situation that General Motors is ready to cede control of GM Europe – mainly Opel and Vauxhall – in effect for nothing, provided a new parent pledges to invest €500m. The disclosure comes after Germany made clear it would not cough up direct state aid, in spite of huge pressure from GM, but would provide some of the €3.3bn loan guarantees GM demanded from Germany and other European states. All this might explain why half a dozen financial and strategic buyers are said to be in early-stage talks.

A big disincentive to any investor has been the real possibility of GM going bust. GM Europe itself warned last month it might run out of cash this quarter. But it is now signalling it has sufficient liquidity to function for a while, even if GM seeks Chapter 11. GM has pledged, meanwhile, to inject €3bn-worth of patents, factories and non-cash assets into a European holding company, shielded from any US bankruptcy filing.

So a GM Europe deal might just attract private equity groups. It could be structured as a leveraged buy-out, with an investor raising debt backed by German guarantees. Sovereign wealth funds might be interested. Opel could also provide a European entrée for a Chinese or Indian carmaker – although Tata Motors, for one, has enough on its plate without taking on the biggest European auto transaction by any Asian group.