U.S. President Barack Obama said Friday he hopes that car companies will stabilize and emerge even stronger from their current troubles.

Speaking at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Dresden, Obama also said he is very satisfied with the solution found to separate General Motors Corp.'s (GMQM) German unit Adam Opel GmbH from the U.S. carmaker.

He said he hopes that the companies will not only stabilize but become stronger and more competitive on international markets.

The German government said May 30 it selected Austrian-Canadian car parts maker Magna International Inc. (MGA) as a partner for Opel and agreed on providing EUR1.5 billion in bridge financing from the federal and state governments, paving the way for a takeover by Magna and its two Russian partners.

The Obama administration plans for the U.S. government to take a 60% ownership stake in GM, which has filed for Chapter 11 protection.

-By Andrea Thomas, Dow Jones Newswires; +49-(0)30-2888-4126; andrea.thomas@dowjones.com