General Motors is to press ahead with talks with Magna International and RHJ International for a stake in its Opel business, after throwing out a bid from China’s Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation.

The announcement by GM is the latest stage in a long-running saga over the future of the US group’s car businesses in Europe. The Opel stake sale has become a key election-year issue in Germany and raised fears about job losses in other countries with GM plants, including the UK.