The vice chairman of General Motors Corp. (GM) said Thursday the company intends to retain full ownership of its operations in Latin America and Asia Pacific.

Lutz said only part of its European assets will be shed as part of the restructuring. The Opel, Vauxhall and Saab are all earmarked for disposal.

Fiat SpA. (FIATY) had eyed GM's profitable Latin American operation alongside assets in the Middle East and Africa alongside its bid for a stake in Opel/Vauxhall.

The Italian company recently said it would wait until the fate of the European business was decided before moving forward on any other bids. Fiat was not immediately available for comment.

Lutz said during a program in Detroit that Fiat is "by no means a certainty" as a buyer for Opel. GM is weighing bids from Fiat and Canadian auto parts maker Magna International Inc. (MGA).

The German government is due to make a decision on supporting either bid Friday.

Lutz said the global auto industry faces many uncertainties, including an oil price spike he said could lead to another recession in the U.S.

He added that the U.S. housing market and emerging markets remain big unknowns for the industry at a time when a prolonged slump has driven auto sales to multi-decade lows.

Lutz, who sold his shares in GM earlier this month, said he made the move because existing shareholders stand to be all but wiped out in the auto maker's restructuring. "I look at all the net worth I've left of the table already and, believe me, it is a large sum of money," he said.

Lutz stepped down as GM's product chief in April and will leave the auto maker at the end of 2009.

GM's shares recently rose 2 cents, or 1.7%, to $1.16.

-By Sharon Terlep, Dow Jones Newswires; 248-204-5532; sharon.terlep@dowjones.com.