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Fritz Henderson is stepping down as chief executive at US car giant General Motors, the company has announced.

GM's chairman of the board, Ed Whitacre Jr, will serve as an interim replacement.

The news came minutes after the end of a GM board meeting to discuss the fate of its Swedish car brand Saab.

In a statement, Ed Whitacre commended what he described as Mr Henderson's "remarkable job in leading the company through an unprecedented period of challenge and change".

"While momentum has been building over the past several months, all involved agree that changes needed to be made," the statement continued.

He said he looked forward to working with the entire GM team "as we now begin the next chapter of this great company".He assured GM's employees, dealers, suppliers, union partners and customers that it would be business as usual with an emphasis on "a return to profitability and repaying the American and Canadian tax payers as soon as possible".

The White House denied any involvement in the resignation.

"This decision was made by the Board of Directors alone. The administration was not involved in the decision," a White House spokeswoman said.

In March, Fritz Henderson replaced the then chief executive, Rick Wagoner, who was ordered to step down by US President Barack Obama.

Mr Wagoner had headed the company since 2000, after first joining the company in 1977.

Car troubles

Earlier on Tuesday, GM released information that US sales figures for its cars and other passenger vehicles fell 2.2% from November 2008 to 151,427.

In November, the company announced that it was calling off plans to sell its other European business, Opel, along with its UK brand, Vauxhall.

GM had agreed to sell Opel and Vauxhall to Canadian car parts firm Magna, but changed its mind.

In July GM said it had emerged from bankruptcy protection after creating a "new GM" made up of the carmaker's best assets.

Fritz Henderson described it as the beginning of a "new era".

But in November, the company released figures that it had suffered a net loss of $1.15bn (£692.3m) in the period since July.

DATED: 02.12.09

FEED: BBC