F&I Management & Training

Vauxhall and Opel, the European operations of General Motors, have withdrawn applications for government help, citing long delays.

They said the 1.8bn euros (£1.5bn; $1.2bn) of aid was still needed, but said the process had been "much more complex and longer than anticipated".

Germany has rejected a request for state aid and the new UK government is reviewing the promised loan guarantees.

The companies said they would now have to fund their growth plans internally.

"GM's recently improved financial strength has been a catalyst for making this decision," the carmaker said in a statement.

Earlier this month, Germany rejected a request for about 1bn euros of loan guarantees.

GM Europe president Nick Reilly said that decision had been "disappointing" and meant the matter may have dragged on for many months.

The previous UK government had also agreed guarantees for 330m euros of loans. But the new coalition government has put this decision under review as part of efforts to cut spending, leading to uncertainty for workers at its Luton and Ellesmere Port plants.

"We cannot afford to have uncertain funding plans and new time-consuming complex negotiations at this time when we need to keep investing in new products and technologies," said Nick Reilly.

"With these new products and the impact of restructuring, we expect to return to profitability shortly," he added