As part of its plan to create the world's second-largest auto maker, Italy's Fiat SpA (FIA) is proposing to General Motors Corp. (GM) that it will take over GM's ailing European operations, as well as GM's more profitable Latin American operations, in Brazil and Argentina, reports La Repubblica in its Wednesday Internet edition without citing any source.

After taking a stake in Chrysler LLC last week, Fiat has said it is looking to spin off its car unit and merge it with the European operations of GM, which include Opel, as well as with Chrysler, to create a car giant with EUR80 billion in annual revenue.

-Dow Jones Newswires; enza.tedesco@dowjones.com